


Ráthú Security

by sjcottrell



Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Bodyguard AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-06
Updated: 2015-05-24
Packaged: 2018-03-29 07:57:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 30,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3888496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sjcottrell/pseuds/sjcottrell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Lucinda Walsh finds herself and her family under attack, she brings in a new security consultant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting Reid Oliver

**Author's Note:**

> So, I wrote this a little over a million years ago and posted it on LJ.

Ráthú: safeguard, guarantee 

When Lucinda Walsh finds herself and her family under attack, she brings in a new security consultant.

Chapter 1: Meeting Reid Oliver

“We don’t even know that this was anything other than an accident.” Luke said as he stepped out of the car. “We’re all upset right now, but I feel sure that Dad and Jack will figure out what happened.”

“I know you want to believe that, Luke. But what if! What if there is someone behind all this?” Lucinda watched as her grandson pulled groceries from the back seat. She paced after him as he walked to the house.

“Grandmother. I know that you’re worried, but we’re ok.” Luke answered as he pushed open the front door. He was juggling his keys, groceries, and his laptop case. He shook his head. It had been a long day. The last thing he wanted to do was to have this debate with his Grandmother. Again. “Nobody is trying to hurt us. And the security you’ve already provided is more than enough to keep us safe.” He dropped his keys on the entryway table and moved into the kitchen, where he stopped short.

“Darling, I’m not sure I’d agree.” Lucinda drawled, looking over his shoulder.

Both of them stared at the stranger sitting at the kitchen table, calmly eating from a package of chocolate chip cookies.

“What are you doing in my house?” Adrenalin shot through Luke, equal parts anger and fear. He stepped in front of his grandmother.

“I was waiting for a while, so I thought I’d have a snack. I hope you picked up some more of these.” The man said, gesturing with his last half cookie. “You’re out.” 

“Who the hell are you!?”

“I’m Reid Oliver. I believe Ms. Walsh was expecting me. You must be Mr. Snyder.” The stranger’s voice was infuriatingly calm. He stood and brushed his hands down the thighs of his black jeans. 

Lucinda recovered first. “Yes, of course. How good of you to come.” She reached past Luke to extend a handshake. She chuckled. “I must say, quite an entrance, Mr. Oliver.”

Luke was still fuming as the two shook hands.

“Grandmother, you knew about this?” Luke hated it when his voice got squeaky. It made him feel like he was sixteen again. 

“Sweetheart, please don’t be upset. I’m just concerned. Mr. Oliver is one of the best security consultants in the business. I simply asked him to come by and look over the arrangements.” Lucinda gestured with her impeccably manicured hand. “What could be the harm?” She and Mr. Oliver turned to face him, both looking reasonable and completely unruffled. 

Luke became aware that he was gaping slightly. He snapped his mouth closed and shook his head, then brushed past them to put his groceries on the counter. Still without saying a word, he began to put the things away. 

“You know how much mom hates it when you interfere.” Luke rubbed his forehead slightly, where a headache was beginning to form. The last thing he needed right now was to referee another Walsh family feud. “I wish you hadn’t invited someone into our home without asking me.”

“Well, now, that…”

“She didn’t, Mr. Snyder.” Mr. Oliver interrupted. 

“Excuse me?”

“She didn’t let me into the house. I came in, uninvited. Without a key, without warning, and without anyone noticing.” Luke’s eyes narrowed at the smirking stranger. “Are you still so sure that your security is up to the job of keeping you safe?”

“You broke in to my house?”

“Yup.” 

Luke’s teeth ground together as his jaw clinched. As infuriating as it was, Mr. Oliver had a point. What if one of the girls had been the first ones home? If this Mr. Oliver could get in, anyone else could as well. 

“What about the security system?”

“Fairly easy to bypass. Especially since it wasn’t on.”

Luke vowed to have another word with Faith and Natalie when he went out the farm later. “I don’t believe this.” He sighed. 

“Luke, sweetie. Let me take you out to dinner. I think we can discuss this better over some food.” Lucinda turned back to their somewhat uninvited guest. “What do you say, Mr. Oliver? I think you’ll like the chili at Al’s.”

“Sounds delightful, Ms. Walsh.” He flashed another smirking grin at Luke before following her back out to the car. Luke allowed himself another long sigh before he stalked back out to the living room for his keys.


	2. Setting up the pieces

“Why did you want to sit here?” Luke looked around. Mr. Oliver had chosen a table at the back of the restaurant. Luke usually preferred to sit at the counter or the booths near the front. 

“Well, it’s near the emergency exit, so if we need to get out quickly, we can. It’s also where I have a direct line of sight to the front door and windows. I can get a gauge on anyone who comes in.” He gestured around the dining area as he spoke.

“That’s not something I would ever have thought about.” Luke said.

“I can see that, junior.” Reid said, half under his breath. “It’s also a little out of the way, so not everyone in the place can hear what we’re discussing.” 

Luke took in another deep breath, still trying to control his temper. At this rate, he was going to hyperventilate.

As the food was served, Reid turned to Lucinda. “Katie forwarded me your file. I think I can help. I’d like to get started right away. I’ll bring in my partner, David Woods, to get the physical security up to scratch before tackling the strategic aspects.” He paused long enough to inhale a handful of fries. 

“Do you think that the two of you will be enough?” Lucinda asked, leaning forward.

“We’ll have Katie at the New York office, doing research. And if we need anyone else, we can bring them in. Plus, you can utilize your security staff onsite to do the meat shielding.” Mr. Oliver didn’t seem to notice the look that crossed Lucinda’s face at that particular turn of phrase. “You said that the threats have been focused on yourself, your daughter, and your grandchildren?”

“That’s right.” 

Luke had stopped eating and was pushing food around his plate quietly as the two of them talked. The thought of Faith, Natalie, or Ethan being in danger was more frightening than he wanted to admit. He kept hoping that this was all an overreaction on his grandmother’s part.

“The alarm and panic systems you have in place now are a little older, but should work well, provided they are used properly.” At this, Mr. Oliver shot Luke a quick glance.

Luke rolled his eyes. “I promise; I will impress upon Faith and Natalie the importance of the door alarms.”

“Luke, dear, you need to take this more seriously.” Lucinda punctuated her point by smacking her palm on the table. Silverware jangled. “Your mother is in the hospital!”

“I don’t really think…” Luke started.

“Wait, hospital?” Mr. Oliver sat up straighter. “When did this happen?”

“This morning. My mom was feeling sick, so we took her to the emergency room. She’s fine.” Luke insisted to his grandmother. “We think she accidentally ingested some unsafe water. These things can happen at the farm. If someone had actually poisoned the well, we would know. Someone would have seen them. I really don’t think that we need a bodyguard. No offence, Mr. Oliver.”

“Well, that’s a relief, because I’m not a bodyguard, Mr. Snyder.” Luke was getting sick of seeing that damn smirk on the man’s face. 

“Then who are you and why are you here?” He asked, exasperated and ready to throw in the towel on the whole conversation.

Mr. Oliver leaned across the table and fixed Luke with piercing blue eyes. “Mainly, Mr. Snyder, I’m a chess player. I plan strategies. I help people when they have problems. I find ways to outthink the opposition. And I’m here to help keep you and your family safe.” He leaned back and smiled. It was not the smug little grin that had been getting on Luke’s nerves, but a full face, honest, eye-crinkling smile.

Luke found that he couldn’t argue. Suddenly, he was finding it hard to even breathe.


	3. Luke discusses with Holden

Chapter 3: 

After the impromptu dinner meeting, Luke drove out to the farm. He was surprised when he found his father alone in the kitchen. Holden smiled at him and gestured to the phone, still at his ear.

Luke returned the smile and poked his head into the living room. His two youngest siblings were engrossed in a movie and barely noticed him. He turned back to the kitchen and sat down at the table.

“That was your mom.” Holden said as he hung up. “Just checking in.”

“Is everything ok?”

“Yeah. The doctors are going to keep her over night, just to be sure. But she should be able to come home tomorrow.”

“Good.” Luke could feel some of the tension slide from his shoulders. “Where’s Faith?”

“Upstairs.” Holden snorted. “She’s supposed to be doing her homework, but she’s probably on her cell phone.”

Luke smiled and shook his head. He knew that the cell was driving his parents crazy. Faith practically had it connected to her hand. It was nice to have an ordinary problem for once. 

“I should let you know that Grandmother has brought in a security consultant.”

“At World Wide?”

“No, they already have a security team for the business. This is something Grandmother thinks we need for the family.” Holden was already frowning, and Luke didn’t blame him.   
“She’s concerned that all these weird things that keep happening are some sort of attack against her. Through us.”

Luke watched his dad pour himself a cup of coffee. His brow was furrowed. “She told you that?”

“Yeah, I met the guy today. Grandmother invited us to dinner at Al’s to discuss it.” Luke wasn’t sure if he should mention Mr. Oliver’s breaking and entering. 

Holden leaned back, still mulling the problem over. “What do you think?”

Luke sighed and looked toward the ceiling. “I just don’t know, dad. I was pretty sure that what happened to mom was an accident. But the more Grandmother talked, the more sense she made.” Luke clasped his hands tightly in front of him. “The weird phone calls, Grandmother’s car accident, and that guy at the park the other day watching the kids. Maybe there is something to all of this.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time.” Holden shuddered, remembering some of the dangers that his family had been through. “Couldn’t hurt to be more careful around here.”

“And you know that Grandmother will do exactly what she wants, anyway.”

Holden smiled. “Yes, well there is that. When Lucinda sets her mind to something, the rest of us had better just get used to the idea.”

The two men lapsed into silence. They could hear the kids’ movie faintly in the front room. Holden finished his coffee and rinsed his mug, setting in on the drain board. He leaned back against the kitchen sink and folded his arms.

“So, what’s her plan?”

“Like I said, she’s hired this security consultant. He’s going to bring in a team to go over the security here and at the house. Then, he said they will start researching to try to find out if someone is behind all this.”

“You met him?”

“Yeah, just today.” Luke gave a dry little chuckle. “He made quite an impression.” 

“Tell me about him.”

Luke opened his mouth to describe the acerbic Mr. Oliver, but found the question difficult to answer. “He seems… very intelligent.” He finally offered. “And Grandmother trusts him, which is a real accomplishment.” Luke thought that his voice sounded a little less casual than he had intended. 

Holden nodded, suddenly watching his son a little more closely. “So, intelligent and trustworthy. Anything else?”

“Outspoken, that’s for sure; kind of rude.” Luke rolled his eyes. “But I guess that doesn’t matter if he’s as good as he says he is.” Luke looked back down. Why was he finding it so hard to describe the security consultant to his dad? He could picture the man easily enough.

After a pause, Holden sighed. “Well, I’ll call Lucinda tomorrow, see what’s up. I’m going to get the kids into bed.” He started toward the living room. “Are you staying?”

“I’d like to, if you don’t mind. It’s a little creepy being at mom’s by myself.”

“Of course, just remember about the water. The guys will be out in the morning to retest, see if we’ll need to drill again.” Holden clapped his son on the shoulder as he passed. 

“Goodnight, dad.” Luke was tired from the eventful day and headed up the stairs to his old room.

As he got ready for bed, he was surprised to find himself still thinking of Reid Oliver. Now that the annoyance had faded, Luke could admit that the man was good looking in those tight black jeans and button down shirt. He smiled to himself in the dark of his bedroom. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad having Mr. Oliver in Oakdale after all.


	4. Studying the game board

Chapter 4

Reid Oliver was already hating Oakdale. He was quite sure the feeling was mutual. His rental car was a joke. Cell phone reception seemed almost whimsical. The town had one of the most random collections of businesses he had ever seen: international airport, TV station, a good sized college. But only one hotel. Well, only one he was willing to risk entering without backup.

He had settled into a slightly over-priced room, but was already missing his own comfortable bed. For such a high-end establishment, the walls at the Lakeview seemed unreasonably thin. The couple next door seemed to be having some sort of crazy sex party or divorce-level marital spat. Or maybe both. 

When Reid had stepped out to get his room service, he caught an eyeful as a very naked, very embarrassed man pounded on the locked door, demanding to be let back in. The tiny wash cloth he’d grabbed from the housekeeping cart left way too little to the imagination.

Reid shook his head and tried to block the image from his mind as he settled to eat and review his notes.

He had lists (long lists) of people connected to Lucinda Walsh. The woman seemed to make a habit of collecting enemies and ex-husbands. She had hundreds of employees, current and former. Who could guess how many painful terminations and disgruntled workers might be hiding in there?  
Another set of notes detailed Lucinda’s complicated financial dealings, some of which seemed a tad shady. The woman had investments everywhere. She bought and sold enterprises as often as Reid changed socks. He read about her political life, not all of which was confined to the continent. He read about her humble beginnings and her iron-willed rise. 

So much of Ms. Walsh’s convoluted life, laid bare. He felt a great deal of respect for the woman, mixed with a healthy measure of fear.  
He turned to the list of suspicious incidents, going back about five weeks. Some were petty: prank phone calls in the middle of the night and a trashed Facebook page. Others seemed more dangerous: someone seemed to be watching the house, important files had been misplaced, and her car was run off the road by an unknown driver. Now, this latest hit on Lilly Snyder. Something didn’t add up. Pulling in the family seemed personal, but were they really being targeted? Or was Mr. Snyder correct in that some of these were simply coincidences? 

Luke Snyder. Now, there was something to give a man pause. Reid naturally had a file on the young Mr. Snyder as part of the investigation. It was certainly not as hefty as his grandmother’s but the kid sure looked like he was on his way. He was a recovering alcoholic before he was 21, with multiple kidnappings and serious medical problems already under his belt. Mr. Snyder certainly hadn’t lived a charmed life, no matter how much was stashed in his bank account.

And the Snyder Foundation, that was a surprise. Rathu Security had taken care of a fair few spoiled rich kids over the years, and Reid suspected that some of those idiots would rather die than lose the high-end life style that their parents’ money afforded them. Mr. Snyder seemed determined to give his millions away.  
He’d felt a pull of attraction that first moment, in the kitchen. What was not to like about that strapping farm boy physique and tousled golden hair? Brave, too. Reid had noticed that the young man had stepped up to protect his grandmother. And he could still picture that face pouting and glaring at him from across the table at Al’s.

Reid rolled his aching shoulders, forced himself to focus. He was beginning to wonder if this might be more of a job than he had bargained for. There was too much information, too much static. Reid knew he was going to have to sort through all of it to come up with some answers. And all thoughts of the pleasantly distracting Mr. Snyder would just have to be pushed to the side.

At least for now.


	5. Assessing the players

Chapter 5

Luke rushed into the Foundation office the next morning. “Sorry I’m running late.” He hung up his jacket and slung his laptop case into a chair.

“No problem, sweetie. I’ve even got some coffee left for you.” 

“Thanks, Jade. You’re a life saver.” Luke smiled gratefully as his cousin handed him a mug. “Has Grandmother called yet?”

“No, did we have a meeting with her today?” Jade asked, looking down at the day planner spread on the corner of her desk. 

“Well, we didn’t before, but she wants to talk to us. I told her that about ten thirty or so would probably work. Where’s Reg?”

“He’s in your office, on a call. I think he’s finalizing the University event.” Jade sat back down and looked at Luke critically. “You don’t look like you got much sleep. Everything ok?”

“Yeah, it’s just… well, no. Not really.” Luke sat down heavily in the visitors’ chair next to Jade’s desk. “Mom was taken to the hospital last night. She’s alright.” He quickly answered Jade’s unasked question. “But now it looks like we might have a bigger problem on our hands.”  
At that moment, Reg burst into the room, practically vibrating with excitement. “We did it! We’ve got permission!” Reg swooped down and hugged Luke, almost bowling him over.

“That’s great, Reg!” Luke laughed along with his friend. The Snyder Foundation had been working on setting up a student fundraiser for weeks. Luke had found that Reg, as a current student, had more influence than either Luke or Jade, and his young assistant seemed to be taking on the event as a personal challenge.  
Reg straightened and bounced over to Jade for a somewhat more restrained hug. Then, his eyes flew open. “Now the real work begins.” He groaned comically.

“Before you get pulled away, I need to let you know that we’re all going to be meeting with Grandmother.”

“Why? Is it something to do with the office? She’s not kicking us out is she?” Reg looked worried at the thought. Their tidy little Foundation office was actually located in the Worldwide Enterprises building. As a non-profit organization, they paid a nominal rent to Lucinda who, in return, claimed the space as a small tax-deductable donation. The arrangement took a great deal of pressure off of Luke. 

“No, nothing like that.” Luke sighed. He hated bringing trouble to his friends, and into the great work they were doing together to help families and children. “We actually need to talk about some security issues. Grandmother thinks that the things that are happening lately are potentially… well, troublesome. She’s hired a special security investigation firm to look around and see what they can find out. We’ll be meeting with them.”

“Oh, ok. Well, I’m going to finish making a few calls. Don’t forget that you’ll probably want to be out of here this afternoon.”

“Huh? Why?”

Reg suddenly found his shoes very interesting as he answered. “We’re, uh, filming the PSA.”

Luke’s face flushed a bit. “Yeah, right. Thanks for the reminder.” Reg shrugged slightly and fled back into the side office to make his calls.

“Luke, I…” Jade started.

“It’s ok, Jade.” Luke interrupted. “Really. I’m ok. It’s fine. I’m going to see if I can get some of the paper work done before Grandmother gets here. Maybe I can actually accomplish something with this day.” He mumbled this last sentence to himself as he pulled out his laptop and started to work. After tossing him one last concerned look, Jade busied herself as well. 

The two were still deep in their tasks a couple of hours later, when they heard a sharp knock on the outer door. Without waiting for an answer, Lucinda Walsh entered followed by two men. Luke recognized one of them as Mr. Oliver. He was still dressed in the slim black jeans and dark button up shirt from yesterday, though they looked as good as new. Luke was struck again at how good looking Mr. Oliver was, when he wasn’t actually insulting anyone. 

His companion was just as attractive, but in a totally different way. Reid Oliver was lean, almost wiry, with short auburn hair, pale skin, and bright blue eyes. This new man had the look of a football player, tall and solidly built. He had a slightly darker complexion, deep brown eyes, and dark hair that was cut in an almost military style. He was dressed in a slightly wrinkled grey suit with a white shirt and blue tie. 

Luke stood and tried to be welcoming. “Grandmother. Mr. Oliver. Thank you for coming down.” Jade smiled at the new arrivals. “Let me go grab Reg and we can get started.”

“No need.” Reg replied as he stepped back into the main area. “Just finished. Reg Addington.” He added, introducing himself with a small wave.

Lucinda took over. “This is Mr. Reid Oliver and his associate David Woods.” The two men nodded in greeting. “They are from Rathu Security and are here to look things over. I just wanted you to be aware that they will be working with us. I hope you’ll give them full cooperation.” Luke understood that this was not a request.

“Of course, Grandmother. Whatever you think is necessary.” Luke’s tone was neutral. He gave her a small smile. 

“I’ll just let you chat.” Lucinda whirled out. The five left behind looked around for a long awkward moment. 

“Um, Mr. Oliver, Mr. Woods, heave a seat. Can I get you some coffee?” Jade stepped forward to offer.

“No thank you, miss…?” Mr. Woods raised his eyebrows at her as he took the offered seat.

“Oh, sorry. I’m Jade Taylor.” She flashed a smile and offered him a handshake.

“Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” Mr. Oliver cut in. He had declined the seat, choosing instead to lean against the smaller desk. He pulled out a pad of paper and began reading from notes. “We’ve been given information about some things Ms. Walsh is concerned with. What can you tell me about any of these?” He handed the paper over to Luke, who looked through the list quickly. Reg was reading over his shoulder.

“I really don’t know what else I can add, Mr. Oliver.” Luke shook his head.

“Can you think of anyone who might be holding a particular grudge?”

Reg snorted. “Have you talked to the douche?”

“Reg!” Luke sounded mortified. “Could you please not call him that? Besides, I’m sure he had nothing to do with this.”

“Well, I don’t know. The phone calls and Facebook stuff sound about his speed.” Reg sounded gleefully vindictive.

“Look, I know you don’t like him, but I’m sure he wouldn’t…” Luke broke off as his phone rang. Checking the readout, he quickly excused himself. “I’m sorry. I have to take this; it’s the hospital.” He went into the side office. 

“Who were we talking about there? Who’s the douche?” Reid asked.

Jade answered. “Noah Meyer, Luke’s ex-boyfriend.”

David’s eyes shot wide open at that. “Ex-boyfriend, huh? Interesting.” He gave Reid a significant look.

“Yeah, he’s gay. So am I, matter of fact.” Reg spoke up defensively. “That’s not going to be a problem for you, is it?”

David laughed. “No. No haters here.” He smiled affably. “The boss is gay, and he wouldn’t put up with it.” 

“Oh, well…” Reg looked a bit sheepish.

“Have either of you experienced problems because of that?” Reid asked.

“Well, it hasn’t always been great. There’s been a little trash talk on campus. And I know Luke and Noah were attacked once. But it was a couple of years ago and it was taken care of.”

“What about this Mr. Meyer?” David put in. “Do you really think he could be behind this?”

“Well, like Luke said, as much as I dislike the guy, I don’t think he’d do anything violent.”

“He would never put the kids in danger. He loved them like they were his own family.” Jade added.

“How well do you know Mr. Meyer?”

“Oh, he’s been around for a couple of years. He and Luke met when they were doing an internship at the local TV station, now he’s a film student at Oakdale College. Honestly, I think he’s fine with everything. They’re still friends.” She glanced at Reg, as if daring him to disagree. 

“Anyone else you think we should be paying special attention to?” Reid asked. Reg thought he sounded a bit like a cop, brusque and businesslike.

“Well, my biological father should probably be on that list.” Luke said as he re-entered the room. “He’s Damien…”

“Grimaldi.” Reid finished, never taking his eyes off his notes. “Yes, I know. We’re certainly looking into the Grimaldi family’s activities.” 

Luke flushed and looked down at the desktop again. He was suddenly embarrassed to be standing in his own office, with people discussing his life this way. The Grimaldi family name always hung over him like a dark cloud. More than that, actually, clouds eventually went away. Having Damien as a father was more like a stain that no amount of washing could remove.

Finally, after a few more questions, the interview was over. Mr. Oliver reminded them all to be careful, recommended a discussion with the building safety supervisor, and then the two men were gone.


	6. Collecting more info

Chapter 6

Luke looked at Jade and Reg. “I am so sorry that you guys are being pulled into this.”

Jade went over and pulled him into a tight hug. “Hey, it’s ok. It’s certainly not your fault. And it sounds like Lucinda is taking care of it. We’ll be alright.”

“I have to say, it certainly improves the scenery around here.” Red chuckled.

“Reg!” Jade exclaimed. Luke groaned. 

“What? You two can’t say you didn’t notice.” He grinned, trying to coax a little levity out of his friends. He rubbed his chin, considering. “I think I’ll take big and burly, myself.”

“No way. I call dibbs!” Jade squealed, getting in on the act.

“I’ll arm wrestle you for him, sweetheart.” Reg slung an arm around Luke’s shoulders. “I guess that leaves you with Mr. Oliver.” Luke felt his face heating again as he laughed off the comments. “Or this mystery gay boss that David mentioned.”

“Huh? When did he say that?”

Jade answered. “When you were on the phone. It was kind of cute, actually. Reg was getting ready for a fight, all ‘I’m gay and so is Luke, so you better not have a problem with that.” 

“I do not sound anything like that.” Reg huffed as Luke chuckled.

“And David just shut him down with ‘well, my boss is gay, so don’t worry about it.”

“I wonder who the boss is and if we’ll get to meet him.” Reg said, somewhat hopefully. The Oakdale gay dating scene was a little sparse. “Maybe there’s a Mr. Rathu.” 

“Look guys, if you can handle things today, I’m gonna take off. I don’t think I can deal with talking to Noah today, on top of all this.” Luke gathered up his things. “I’ll run all the errands in Old Town and then head over to the house, see if mom needs me.” 

“Luke, I’m sorry. When I asked him to film the spot, it was because of his camera experience. I just didn’t think about how awkward this might be for the two of you. I thought you were trying to stay friends.” 

“Yeah, we are. It’s ok, it’s all good.” Maybe if I say it a few more times, I’ll start to believe it, Luke thought to himself. “I’m glad that Noah’s still willing to help us out. I just don’t want to get in the way while he’s here.” Luke punctuated this sentence by zipping his computer back into his shoulder bag.  
Jade looked unconvinced but simply nodded and handed him a list and several packets to mail as he left. 

 

David was quiet until he reached the car. “So, Mr. Snyder is gay.” His tone spoke volumes.

“Yeah, well, as you said, so’s your boss. So no trouble.” Reid shot back, opening the driver’s side door.

“I didn’t say ‘no trouble’. I said ‘no haters’. Big difference.” 

Reid rolled his eyes. “We do not have time for this, David. We’ve got tons of work to do here. Have you looked at the information Katie sent?”

“Reid,” David practically whined, “I just arrived in this delightful slice of Americana this morning. I haven’t even had time to check in to the hotel. Give a guy a break.”

“Oh sure, don’t strain yourself or anything.” Reid bit back, sarcastically. He continued more seriously. “I’ve got a feeling that we need to hit the ground running on this one. Things are starting to get rough. You haven’t heard the latest. Her daughter was hospitalized overnight. Poisoned.”

“Damn. That is kind of stepping up the ante. No worries, Reid. We’ll get it figured out.”

“If we can’t, we might want to set up a safe house. I’ll have Katie get moving on that. After you’re checked in, I want you to come back here, talk to in-house security, look over the logs, maybe see if anything shows up on security tapes.”

“Yeah, I know the drill. What are you going to be doing?”

“I’m going to track down Holden Snyder and get a look at the farm. See how things are set up out there.” 

“Farm?’ David sounded shocked.

“Yup.”

“Like with cows and pigs?”

“Horse farm.” Reid answered shortly as he pulled to a stop in front of the Lakeview. “Get your room, get in touch with Katie, and get up to speed.”

David extracted himself and his luggage from the tiny rental. “Will do, boss.”


	7. Can't say no to dinner

Chapter 7

Luke finished his errands in town and arrived at his mother’s house just as the school bus was pulling away. The cares of the day melted away as his younger brother and sister bounced up to him. He listened to Ethan chatter about his fourth grade life as the three of them headed inside.

Lilly came downstairs when she heard the front door. “Ethan, Natalie, bring me your back packs and you can have a get some cookies from the kitchen. Hey baby.” She added as she saw Luke. “You’re home early.”

“Hey mom. How are you feeling?” The younger kids dropped their things and headed off in search of snacks.

“Much better. And a little foolish.” Lilly shook her head as she began to sift through her children’s school papers. “I swear, one of these days this family is going to go a full month without anyone ending up in the hospital.”

“Well, better safe than sorry, you know.” He looked around the main room. “Is someone else here?”

“Well, Faith’s here, of course. Why do you ask?”

“I saw a car outside.”

“Oh, that’s Mr. Oliver’s. He came over and your father took him out to the farm to look around.”

Luke was surprised. “It’s kind of hard to imagine Mr. Oliver tromping around the farm.”

“Your dad said he’d loan him some Wellies.” They both laughed. “They should be back any time.”

Luke watched his mother closely. “Are you ok with all of this, the extra security?”

“To be honest, Luke, I don’t know what to think about all this. But you know your grandmother, no stopping her.” Lilly gave an exasperated little sigh. “And I guess it can’t hurt.”

“That’s pretty much what dad said.” Luke regretted the comment as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Lilly and Holden had been making some progress in their relationship, but it was still a bit rocky and tense. He could see from the look on his mother’s face that she was still struggling with the most recent separation.

“So. Do you need any help?”

“Actually, could you work with Faith? She’s having a hard time with her math. And I think she’s had enough of my help.” His mom sounded a little hurt.

“I’ll try.” Luke grimaced. Math had not been his best subject in school. 

 

It was more than an hour later when Holden’s truck pulled up back at the house. 

“Well, thank you, Mr. Oliver. I’ll get started on your suggestion as soon as I can.”

“The sooner the better, Mr. Snyder. This problem isn’t going to solve itself.”

“Yes, I know.” The two men climbed out and headed for the front door. Holden paused, bit uncertain. This wasn’t his home anymore. Should he knock, or just go in? He settled for knocking to announce himself as he opened the door. He heard a squabble already in progress.

“I just don’t understand it! It’s stupid anyway. It doesn’t make any sense!” Faith seemed on the verge of tears. She groaned dramatically and dropped her head to the dining room table where she had spread her books and papers. 

“Faith, I’m sure we can figure this out, ok? Just calm down.” Luke was looking a little frazzled. He’d undone his tie and rolled up his sleeves; his blonde hair was standing up in a dozen different directions. He looked tired and stressed. But was still trying to soothe his sister. 

“Hey guys. What’s going on?” Holden flashed a sympathetic smile at his son.

“Trigonometry.” Faith moaned, pronouncing the word as if describing medieval torture. “I think I’m just too stupid to learn this.” 

Reid wandered over to scrutinize the homework page. “Well, I don’t know about you, but your professor is a moron.”

“Mr. Oliver! Please!” Lilly snapped. She had been listening to Faith complain about her math teacher for months now and was sick of the common refrain.

“What do you mean?” Luke asked, over-riding his mother’s exasperation. 

“Those first three examples are wrong.”

“You’re shitting me!” Faith swore, earning another sharp word from her mother.

“Nope.” Reid leaned in to get a better look at the problem. “Just remember, the sine of an angle in a right triangle equals the opposite side divided by the hypotenuse. The cosine is just the sine of the complimentary angle.”

Faith rolled her eyes at him and groaned again. “I’ll never get this.”

“Actually, you’re doing quite well for someone who’s obviously not had competent instruction.” Mr. Oliver took the seat next to Faith and pulled her paper toward him. To the astonishment of the other adults, he began helping the young girl with her homework. After staring at him for a stunned moment, Faith bent her head to look at the numbers he was correcting. 

“So… this one is just wrong because… I used the wrong side?” Faith suggested.

“Yes, exactly. It should be the length of this side,” he said, pointing to the paper, “which we don’t know. How could you figure that out?”

“Well…” She frowned at the paper. “I guess we… use the formula on that one?”

“Yup, the Pythagorean Theorem. Are you trying to catch flies, Mr. Snyder?” He added without looking up.

Luke closed his mouth quickly and sat back. He blushed as realized that he must have been staring. “I just didn’t realize you could be nice.” He joked. 

Mr. Oliver simply rolled his eyes. “Most of my early jobs were tutoring. And trigonometry isn’t exactly brain surgery. It’s just remembering a few key formulas.”  
Luke shrugged and extracted himself from the dining area, feeling at a bit of a loss as he watched his sister juggle numbers under Mr. Oliver’s guidance. He stood watching them for a moment as they bent over the book, the older man’s short auburn curls nearly touching Faith’s long brown hair. He felt a surprising flutter in the pit of his stomach at the sight. 

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” He heard himself offer.

Mr. Oliver looked up again with his crooked little smile. “Sure, what the heck? I’m constitutionally incapable of turning down free food.” 

Luke nodded and then headed toward the kitchen. His dad followed him while a wide-eyed Lilly watched the homework lesson.

 

“So… That’s our security consultant. What did you think of him?”

Holden chuckled. “Well, intelligent, definitely. I don’t think I’ve met anyone like him. I’ve certainly never been asked so many questions in one afternoon.”

“Did he have anything to say about the security at the farm?”

“Oh, he had some suggestion, alright.” From Holden’s dry manner, Luke could fairly imagine some of Mr. Oliver’s conversation with his father.

Luke busied himself pulling ingredients and serving dishes out of the pantry. Salad and bread, a pan of homemade lasagna from the freezer. “He said that they’re looking into the Grimaldis.” He said in a small voice, carefully not looking at his dad.

Holden nodded. “I figured.”

“It makes sense, I guess.”

“It does.” Holden hated that after all this time, Damien Grimaldi still had such an effect on all of them.

“I don’t really think he’s involved. This time. It’s more about elimination of suspects at this point.”

“Yes, and unfortunately, the list of people with grudges against your grandmother is long.” Holden smiled a wry little grin. He had known Lucinda Walsh for a long time. She had never been one to take an easy path. 

“I just hate that this is all happening again.” Luke said with a frustrated growl, finally meeting Holden’s eye. 

He reached out and squeezed he son’s shoulder. “We’ll get through it, Luke. Together.” 

Luke nodded and smiled, though his eyes still seemed shadowed. “Stay for dinner? I know the kids would love it.”

“Sure.” He certainly couldn’t say no to that.


	8. The security team

Chapter 8

Reid was surprised at how much he enjoyed helping the Snyder kid work through her trig. And homemade dinner was a huge bonus. He couldn’t actually remember the last time he’d had lasagna that hadn’t come from a frozen cardboard box. He had almost whimpered when he saw the piles of fresh pasta and melted cheese.

Small talk, however, drove him crazy.

“So, where are you from, Mr. Oliver?” Lily asked, passing him a basket of bread.

“Boston.”

“You don’t have much of an accent.”

Reid couldn’t think of a response to that one so he simply nodded and took a large bite of food. The younger girl to his right giggled. 

“What about your family? Are they still in that area?” She seemed determined to play the charming hostess.

“Nope.”

“Oh, where do they live now?”

“They’re gone.” He tossed the answer out quickly, not even looking up. But he could hear the silence that followed in its wake. 

“Oh, I’m… I’m so sorry.” Lily finally offered. 

Reid sighed, gave her a tight little grin. “It was quite a while ago, Ms. Walsh.” He returned to his food, unsure how to continue. Fortunately, the Snyder family seemed to have enough to discuss without involving him overmuch. Once Lily abandoned her attempts to bond with him, he was content to eat, watch, and listen.

Holden and Lily, he noticed, seemed very interested in the lives of their children, but conversation between the two was stilted. Luke kept everyone talking with a relentless cheer, and the younger children responded enthusiastically to his questions about school and friends. Faith was quiet, though a few comments did manage to crack a slight grin onto her face.

“Do you really play chess?” Luke asked, at a lull in the family conversation.

“Excuse me?”

“You described yourself as a chess player. Was that just a metaphor?”

“No. I play.” 

Luke was determined not to be discouraged by the short answers. “Are you any good?”

Reid smirked. “Yup.”

Luke smiled back. “I’ll have to take you on some time. I’m pretty good myself.”

Reid made an equivocal motion with his head. He shoved more lasagna in his mouth and let the children’s conversations push back over the group. 

 

As Reid drove back to the hotel, thinking of the Walsh/Snyder family, he began to feel a building sense of anger and frustration at the unseen foe reaching out to hurt them. He hit the call button on his phone. It only rang once.

“David Woods.”

“Are you at the hotel?”

“Yeah, got back about an hour ago.”

“I’m on my way over. Meet me in my room, 402. I want to conference in with Katie, see what we’ve been able to find out.”

 

A few minutes later, Reid jogged up the four flights of stairs at the Lakeview. He spotted David waiting near his door as soon as he left the stairwell. He had a puzzled grin on his face. As Reid approached, he gestured toward room 400. “What’s with them?”   
Reid groaned. Apparently the love birds were at it again. “I have no idea. Some kind of circus act, I think.” He unlocked his room and led the way inside.

David began setting up a laptop on the coffee table. “I talked to Katie. She’s ready for us whenever we can get logged in.”

Reid nodded and made a quick trip to the bathroom. When he returned, he was greeted by the LCD version of his top researcher.

“Hey, Goldilocks.”

“Hey, boss. How are you liking Illinois?” Although she was a college-educated 32 year old mother of two, Katie Frasier still had a tendency to sound like a high school cheerleader. At least, in Reid’s opinion. 

“This little bit of it seems to be insane.” David laughed at the assessment but couldn’t disagree. Reid grabbed a soda from the mini fridge before settling down in front of the computer with his papers.

“Yeah. Trust me, I remember. I’ve always wondered if it’s located on some mystical burial ground or Hellmouth or something.”

“What have you got for me on Lucinda Walsh?”

Katie shrugged, tipping her head to one side. “Well, you’ve got most of the history.” She raised her eyebrows in silent comment. “Actually, she’s been pretty quiet recently. The only thing that’s popping out is a buyout of a small data company. But I doubt anyone involved in that would be the kind to result to the dirty tricks you’re describing. More likely file motions in court.” 

“Hostile takeover?”

“No, it’s still privately owned. Being picked up by Walsh would probably put them on the map.”

“What about the Grimaldis?”

“From what we can tell, also pretty quiet. I’ve set up an early morning chat for us with Elena in Italy, see if she can shed some light. But right now, I’ve got nothing new.”

“Did David fill you in on the newest development? Lily Walsh, suspected water tampering.” Reid looked over at his partner, who nodded. 

“I also started sketching in the details for physical security here on site.” David motioned to his own notepad full of scribbling. “The World Wide building should be pretty easy, and Ms. Walsh has monitored security at the main residences.”

Reid grimaced. “That farm’s going to be the weak link. Place is wide open and isolated. But I seriously doubt if we could talk them into leaving it.”  
“Well then,” Katie chirped, “we’ll just have to catch the bad guys, won’t we, boys?”

 

For almost half an hour, the three traded information, discussed ideas, and planned strategies. Finally, David yawned.

“Sorry, I think I’m out for tonight. All this traveling is starting to catch up to me.” He said his good nights, gathered up his things, and left. As soon as he was out of earshot, Katie asked. “So, how’s it going with David?”

“Seems like he’s going to work out. Still thinking like a cop a bit too much, but we’ll get there.”

Reid was tired, too. He let out a long breath. “So, what do you think?”

Katie smiled. “I think David’s right. You have a thing for Luke.”

That brought Reid up short. “I do not have a thing for Luke Snyder.”

“Mm-hmm.” She fixed Reid with that “you-didn’t-really-clean-your-room-now-did-you” look that all moms seemed to posses. “I remember him a bit. And I hear about him from time to time from my nephew.” She glanced down at something on her desk. “Seems like he’s grown up quite well.”

“Ok, fine. He’s attractive.” He admitted, somewhat grudgingly. Not that the pictures in the file really did him justice. “But I’m here to do a job. I don’t let myself get distracted.” He insisted.

“Yeah,” she stretched the word to its breaking point, “how’s that workin’ for ya’?”

Reid paused for a long moment. As painful as it was, he knew he had to be completely honest about this. “Frankly, I’m a little…” His serious tone cooled her joking, instantly. “Katie, you know there are damn good reasons for not wanting to get attached here. It’s a complication I just can’t afford.” 

Katie simply bobbled her head from side to side, as if weighing the idea. 

“It might be best if I limit contact.” Reid continued, slowly. He was still rolling it over in his mind. “I’ll have David handle things with the Snyders and I’ll concentrate more on Lucinda. I have a feeling that’s where the juicy stuff is, anyway.”

“You don’t think Luke’s in danger? Even though he’s been a target of some of the harassment?” Katie asked, peering over the tops of her reading glasses.

“He’s like Bambi. Other than the Grimaldis, who just want his money, I have a hard time imagining anyone actually wanting to do him harm.”

“You know that’s not the case, Reid. You’ve seen his history.” Her voice was low as she admonished him. They couldn’t afford to overlook something here.

“Yeah. I have.” How did someone as sunshine-sweet as Luke Snyder end up as Fate’s whipping boy? “Let’s just get this over with, make sure no one else gets to him.”

“Aww! Are you feeling all protective of our little Luke?” She teased quietly. “He’s a good guy. I think he could use someone to take care of him.”

“Get some sleep, Katie. We’ll be talking to Interpol at four in the morning.”

She just laughed harder. “G’night, Reid.” 

”Buonanotte, bella ragazza.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buonanotte, bella ragazza - goodnight, beautiful girl


	9. the ex-boyfriend

Chapter 9

“Thanks, Noah.” Luke said as he accepted his coffee and sandwiches. He looked down at the tray, avoiding excess eye contact with his ex-boyfriend. It had been almost two months since the break up, and things were still a bit awkward. Not for the first time, Luke wished that there was another coffee shop in town. Or that Noah would finish his overdue final project and move out to L.A. as he’d be threatening for months.

He could feel Noah’s eyes follow him as he went to sit with Jade.

“Thanks, handsome.” Jade took her food and glanced back at the counter. “Is that getting any better?” She nodded toward Noah who noticed her attention and moved into the back room to fetch some supplies.

“I guess. I think.” Luke sighed. “I don’t know, Jade. I feel like I’m over it. Really, but… I’m just not sure what to do now. He was my first… well, everything. I’ve never broken up with anyone before.”

“You’ve broken up with him before.” She muttered into her drink.

Luke gave a tiny ‘huff’ of a laugh. “Yeah. I think that’s part of the problem. We broke up and got back together so often... I think he still expects it. But I can’t…”

“It’s ok, Luke.” She patted his hand. It was so hard to watch her best friend go through this kind of heartbreak. “I understand. I think you made the right decision. You weren’t happy together.”

“Not for a long time.” Luke interjected in a small voice.

“First loves don’t always last forever.” It was sad but true. “And honestly, Luke, that’s ok. You need to do what’s right for you, ya’ know?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Jade.” He smiled and took a careful sip of his drink. He was searching for a new topic when he noticed a change on his companion’s face.

“Well, well, well. Look who finally turned up.” Jade practically crowed. Luke turned to see Mr. Oliver holding a coffee cup and looking around for a table. He smirked at Jade’s greeting and walked over.

“Some of us have been hard at work.”

“We haven’t seen you all week. I thought you pawned all the hard work off on Mr. Woods.”

“It’s been three days. And David actually pulled the light duty. I’ve been spending most of my time neck deep in researching World Wide.” Reid responded.

“Well, I guess that’s ok then. You’re forgiven. You can sit at the table with the cool kids.” Jade laughed and tossed her hair. She enjoyed seeing the dour Mr. Oliver warm up just a bit.

Reid hesitated a moment. He had been doing well, avoiding Mr. Snyder. Focus was critical in this line of work. He certainly couldn’t afford to let himself be distracted by an infatuation. He raked his eyes over the blonde sitting across from Jade.

On the other hand, he thought as he sat down, there was no reason to completely alienate the young man, either. Reid was in control of the situation. Having coffee together wouldn’t do any harm. By habit, he chose the chair facing the door.

Luke smiled. He had noticed that Mr. Oliver was wearing the same shirt and tight black jeans that he’d always seen him in. He looked good in the outfit, but Luke wondered if he owned any other clothes. “We’re actually going to be meeting with Grandmother in about an hour. She’s thinking of having World Wide sponsor another cruise for pediatric cancer patients and their families. We did the first one last summer, and it was really well received. It’s a great boost for the company’s PR, plus…” Luke realized that he was babbling a bit and cut himself off. “Sorry. Presenting to the board members still makes me feel like I’m being called in to the principal’s office.” He laughed and shuddered comically at the memory. “So. How’s the investigation going? Have you made any progress?”

“Some.” Reid answered shortly. Damn. Why did the kid have to have dimples? “We’ve managed to rule out some potentials. My research team in New York was able to contact several former business associates and an ex-husband. We’re delving into the financials now.”

Jade frowned. “I seriously doubt if John Dixon has anything to do with this.”

“Well, it’s my job to find out, isn’t it?” Reid raised his eyebrows at her and smirked.

Jade rolled her eyes at him. She leaned to grab her purse and promptly spilled her drink across the table, onto her cousin. “Oh, Luke!” She jumped up, grabbing the cup. “I am so sorry!” She grabbed a handful of napkins to sop up the mess as Reid pushed away from the table.

“Watch it, there.” Reid chuckled as Jade turned toward him with her hand outstretched.

“It’s not a problem, Jade, really. At least it was iced coffee.” Luke went to the counter and asked for some paper towels. Even as he began dabbing at his shirt and pants, he knew it was hopeless. He would have to run home and change before the meeting. His mind was spinning out the details when Noah leaned over to talk to him.

“Nice move. Way to impress your lunch date.”

Luke rolled his shoulders and closed his eyes for a moment before responding. He was so tired of going around and around with his ex. “Mr. Oliver is a security consultant working for my grandmother. That’s all.”

“Sure.” Noah scoffed.

“Noah, it’s not any of your business anymore.” Luke turned and walked back to the table. Jade was still apologizing as he gathered his things to go. His sandwich was ruined. So much for a relaxing lunch to take his mind off things. “Jade, really. It’s ok. I’m going to run home and change. We’ve got time. I’m sure I can still make it.” He made it out the door in four long strides before he noticed Noah behind him.

“I can’t talk to you right now, Noah. I have to go get cleaned up.” Luke fumbled through his suit jacket, looking for his keys.

“Could I call you later? Maybe take you out to dinner? Just… just to talk.”

“What would be the point?” Luke snapped, frustrated. Noah was startled at the bite of anger in Luke’s voice.

He seemed genuinely sad. “I guess I thought that maybe we could…”

“What, get back together? Noah, you have to see that that’s never going to happen.” Luke finally turned to face him. Unfortunately, Noah seemed to take that as some sort of encouragement.

“We’ve been through so much, Luke. Are you really ready to turn your back on me – on us? For good?”

“Yes, we have been through a lot together, Noah. And honestly, I thought we were friends, even more than boyfriends.” Luke could feel all the old resentments working their way to the surface.

“We are.”

“Oh, really? Because in my world, friends stand up for each other. And boyfriends believe in each other.”

“I’m sorry. I know I was wrong not to believe you about Mason.” Noah looked down, trying to appear contrite. “It was just, sometimes you… have this way of seeing things that aren’t there. You know. You don’t always have the best judgment. I mean, Brian, your drinking...”

“Don’t you dare!” Luke hissed. He took a breath, trying to calm himself. He stepped back and shook his head. “You know what? I am not going to have this argument with you, again. You can’t keep doing this to me, Noah. I’m not a yo-yo that you can throw away whenever things get hard and then expect to just pull back in whenever you’re ready.”

“You said that you still care.” It was almost an accusation.

Luke sighed. He had wanted so much to just have a nice goodbye. “Yes, as a friend. That’s all. I’m sorry. I honestly am. But no. I’m done trying.”

“You can’t mean that.”

“Yes, I do, Noah. I’ve let go of this. I think you need to, as well.” Luke made himself be firm. He had to draw the line and stick to it. If not, they would end up like his parents.

“This will be best for both of us. We can both move on.”

Noah’s face went through a several quick changes. “Yeah, well, good luck with that.” He finally spat out.

“What do you mean?” Luke pulled back. He was shocked by Noah’s sudden bitterness.

“Well, it’s not like there’s line out the door or anything, right?” Noah’s expression turned cold and mean. “You said yourself that you haven’t dated anyone else. I mean, how could you? Everyone in town already knows all about you.” He gave a little snort.

Luke blinked slowly. He would never have thought that Noah could be that cruel.

Suddenly, Mr. Oliver was at his side, touching his elbow. “We need to get going, Mr. Snyder. If you don’t want to keep your grandmother waiting, you’ll need to head home and change.”

Luke looked at Mr. Oliver for a moment, puzzled. Reid gestured to Luke’s shirt, stained from the coffee.

“I’ll drive.” Reid added. Luke finally recognized the gesture as a rescue and nodded as he turned and walked away from a still fuming Noah.


	10. Pity party for one

Chapter 10

Luke followed Reid to his car and climbed in the passenger side. He was quiet as Reid started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. 

“You don’t think… You don’t really think that Noah had anything to do with all of this, do you?” Luke posed the question in a quiet voice. 

“Not really. He seems too banal and boring. Sure, he’s probably been prank calling your phone, and maybe following you around.” Reid rolled his eyes. “But I don’t think he is behind the actual attacks. However, I haven’t ruled out his psycho dad, yet.”

At this, Luke looked up, startled. “Noah’s father is dead.”

“No, Mr. Meyer’s father is an intelligent, highly capable, black-opts trained former officer in the United States Army who has disappeared without trace and been declared dead.” Reid quirked his eyebrows up at Luke. “Very different story. Plus, he hated you and has already tried to kill you twice. He blamed you for taking his son away from him. Until I see an autopsy report, I’m keeping him on the suspect list.”

Luke looked thoughtful at that. It wouldn’t be the first time someone he knew returned after supposedly being dead. 

“Unfortunately, his childish behavior is confusing the real issue.”

 

When they reached Lily’s town home, Luke was a bit surprised that Mr. Oliver shut off the engine and followed him into the house. The older man gave a satisfied nod as Luke disabled the electric security at the door before unlocking it.

Instead of heading up to shower, as Reid expected, Luke walked into the kitchen. Reid followed him and watched in silence as Luke pulled a pie out of the refrigerator. He pulled out plates and served two pieces, still not meeting Reid’s eye. 

He slid a plate and fork toward Reid and began poking halfheartedly at his own.

Luke paused and looked halfway up. His eyes focusing on the pocket of the other man’s dark shirt. “Thanks for taking care of me back there.”

“That’s why I’m here, Mr. Snyder. Just doing my job.” Reid flashed his small, crooked grin.

Luke finally looked up at Reid’s face. He grinned back, but it was, at best, a bit wobbly. “Yeah, I don’t think that your job duties include rescuing me from my ex-boyfriend.” Luke’s shoulders slumped and he looked back at his crumbled pie.

Reid moved forward. He wanted to offer some sort of comfort, to reach out and wipe away that look of defeat. But he didn’t quite know how.

“I just wish…” Luke sighed.

“What?” Reid felt himself move even closer. Mr. Snyder seemed to exert an almost magnetic pull.

“I wish I didn’t let him get to me like that. I wish it didn’t bug me so much. I mean, it’s not like I want to be with him anymore. I just...” Luke trailed off again. “Sometimes I think he’s right and no one else is ever going to want to be with me.”

“I can guarantee you, that’s not the case.” Reid was surprised at how steady his voice sounded.

Luke shook his head. He dropped his fork onto the plate with a small clatter. “I mean, really? My life is so messed up. I don’t think anybody wants a ticket to the Luke Snyder crazy train.” He sighed again. “Why on Earth would they?” 

Reid shook his head slightly and brought a forkful of apples up to his mouth. He chewed slowly, giving himself a moment to think. “Alright, fine. Just how long is this pity party of yours going to last?” His tone was dry and sarcastic.

Luke’s head snapped up. His eyebrows shot to his hairline.

“You need to be at your Grandmother’s office in,” Reid glanced down at his watch, “forty minutes.” Luke continued to stare, his mouth slightly open. “You’ve got that shareholders’ meeting. I believe you’ll be settling the details of your multi-million-dollar fund to improve the lives of chronically ill children. Should I call and let her know that you’ll be late because you’re mooning over the coffee shop kid?” 

Luke was still staring, but his eyes were almost bright again. His expressive face flashed from disappointed through hurt and landed on incredulous. Reid counted it as improvement. Then, after a long, tense moment, the sun broke through the clouds. Luke smiled and chuckled.

“You’re right.”

“I know I am.” That made Luke’s smile even bigger.

“I’ll just go upstairs and change for the meeting.” He took a few steps before turning back. “Thanks again.”

Reid dropped his head back and looked up, as though the ceiling might hold some answers. How was he going to get through this? Any way that this attraction worked itself out, he felt that he was well and truly screwed. He finished his pie, then Luke’s, and stacked the dishes in the sink.


	11. Fork attack

Chapter 11

Luke was still so pumped from the presentation, he practically danced down the hall. “You know, Jade. Sometimes I feel like we’re just these kids playing around in Grandmother’s basement. Like we’re running a lemonade stand or something. But sometimes…”

“We totally rock!” Jade finished, pumping her fist in the air. They had done an amazing job. The members of the board had been interested, had asked intelligent questions, and had been pleased with the answers. “Luke, we are going to be able to help so many people with this!” 

Luke was smiling from ear to ear. What a roller coaster day!

He stopped short at the Foundation offices as he saw the door swinging open. He was sure he had locked up before lunch. The two exchanged puzzled looks as Luke stepped inside.

He stared around his office in shock. The file cabinets were opened and papers lay everywhere. He noticed that the little potted plant from Jade’s desk was over turned, the dirt smeared across her chair. He thought for a second that he might cry.

“Don’t go in there.” He put out his hand to keep her from entering. “I need to call security.”

Jade’s eyes were wide and slightly watery. “Luke, who…?”

“I don’t know. But we’ll figure it out.” He had to believe that. He took out his phone and dialed.

 

Luke rubbed Jade’s arm as they answered question from Detective Hughes.

“We’ll have to look through things more closely, but as far as I can tell, nothing is missing.” Luke said.

“Nothing of value?”

“We don’t keep any money in the office. Jade’s computer is undamaged, and I use a laptop, which I had with me.” Luke shrugged. He honestly had no idea why someone would break into the Foundation Offices.

“Are you sure the door was locked?”

“Positive. We’ve been extra careful, at the insistence of Mr. Oliver.”

Detective Hughes looked over at the security consultant, talking quietly with one of her police officers. He hadn’t been terribly helpful when he arrived on the scene. He seemed more interested in asking questions than answering them.

“We’ll get everything processed as quickly as possible.” Margo assured Luke. “Meanwhile, make sure you keep up with the tight security.” She nodded to them both, then collected her people and left.

Mr. Oliver came over to stand next to Luke and Jade as they huddled just inside the front office door staring at the mess. Reid watched the two of them closely. They both seemed pale and stressed, but not too scared.

“I texted Reg. Told him what was going on and asked him to come in after class.” Jade said softly.

“Thanks, Jade.” Luke responded. “I think we’ll need some help putting this place back together.” He ran his hand through his hair. “It seems like the police made even more of a mess.”

They all started a bit when David came around the corner into the room, slightly out of breath. Reid raised his eyebrows, looking hopeful. But David shook his head. “Total strike out in the security office, I’m afraid. Whoever did this must have known where the cameras were. A couple were moved or disabled completely.”

“What are those idiots doing up there?” Reid was incensed. “Why didn’t they notice cameras being conked?” 

“That’s the other thing. While this was going on, someone set off the motion sensors in the top offices. Everyone was distracted.”

“Fork attack.” Reid injected, almost automatically.

“That’s what I thought you’d say.” David said. “I think I’m getting as good at the chess stuff as you are.”

“Yeah. Not likely.”

“Wait, what’s a fork attack?” Jade asked, looking back and forth between the two men.

“Basically it means that whoever did this made sure that the guards were distracted by hitting you in two places at once.” David answered quickly, before Reid could launch into am overly detailed explanation.

“While we were all at the meeting.” Luke added, looking troubled. 

Reid nodded. “Someone with a lot of inside knowledge. I think we need to go speak with Ms. Walsh.”


	12. A council of war

Chapter 12

The ride up in the elevator was a tiny bit of quiet torture. Luke was obviously shaken. He worried his lower lip and looked at the floor, shoving his hands in his pockets. Reid looked away before he gave in to the temptation to reach out and smooth his hand across that face, erase some of the fear. He shook his head and blinked hard a few times. 

Focus.

“I spoke with your father. Mr. Grimaldi.” He clarified.

Luke had thought he had been done with surprises for the day. “What? You talked to… When? What did he say?”

“He made it clear that he’s concerned for you, but that in his opinion, no one from the Grimaldi family is behind this. I think I agree. Once the money was officially out of your hands and tied up in your foundation, the major motive was removed. And our contacts overseas tell us that they’ve been pretty quiet for a while.”

“Oh.” Luke said, faintly. Another two floors clicked by.

“How long has it been since you’ve seen him?”

“Damian? I guess it’s been about a year. He came to see me after I set up the foundation. But then there was all this stuff with a kidnapping, and with my dad. Holden. Then there was some company crisis he had to manage and he went back to Malta.” Luke shrugged. “We email, talk on the phone some times.” 

“He seems honestly worried about you.” In fact, the man had stopped just short of threatening Reid for allowing Luke to come to harm. Reid’s knowledge of Italian curse words had been seriously tested.

“Yeah. I know. We just…” Luke trailed off as the elevator came to a stop. The two men exited in silence and made their way to the head offices.

 

“Luke, dear. How are you?” Lucinda Walsh held out both arms, pulling her grandson into a hug.

“I’m fine, Grandmother. Really. We weren’t even in the office when it happened.” He stepped back and gestured to his left. “Mr. Oliver thought we should talk.”

Lucinda eyed the man with approval. “A council of war? I agree.” She nodded her head firmly and motioned them over to chairs across from her desk. Reid smiled grimly.

“Have you noticed anything missing, Ms. Walsh?”

“Not immediately. Though it may take some time to be sure. Nothing seems out of order, and that actually makes it more difficult.” Her expression turned hard. “What disturbs me the most is that this feels like someone who knows my office so well.”

“That is a concern. For both of you.” Reid looked very serious. He chewed on the next question for a bit before asking. “How well do you trust the people involved here?”

Luke looked at him with evident surprise, but Lucinda seemed to have been considering the question already. “I trust my assistant implicitly. And all the other members of staff have been well vetted. Though I’m sure,” she added, with a sardonic glance at her consultant, “that you have been looking at each of them.”

“We are. Starting with the most recent hires. As well as anyone associated with the Foundation.” Luke’s face flashed from surprised to irritated. “But it would be more helpful if you had any suggestion.” Reid asked, completely unperturbed.

“None whatever, unfortunately. I’m still not sure I trust Jade Taylor,” Luke rolled his eyes at that old argument, “but I suppose even I have to trust her alibi.” She finished with a sardonic chuckle. She looked thoughtful, pursed her lips. “I’ve been in contact with Mrs. Frasier. She seems excellent, by the way. She forwarded a list of interested parties.” She glanced at a paper on her desk and frowned slightly. “Though I’m pretty sure James Steinbeck is finally dead.”

“I think Mr. Oliver is probably still holding out for the coroner’s report.” Luke responded dryly, remembering the conversation about Colonel Meyer. He noticed a small smirk from the man in response.

Lucinda nodded. Then sighed. “I must say, I’d no idea I’d amassed so many enemies.”

“The wise person finds enemies more useful than the fool does friends.” Reid quoted.

Lucinda raised an eyebrow. “Sun Tzu, Mr. Oliver?”

“Baltasar Gracián, The Art of Worldly Wisdom.” He corrected.

“I’ve always liked Churchill. ‘If you have enemies, that means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life’.” 

Luke watched the two of them, feeling a bit left out. He cleared his throat. “What are we going to do about this? It feels like things are getting worse.”

“Oakdale Police.” Reid said, with a shrewd look at Lucinda. Luke was confused by the non sequitur. “How involved do we want them to be?”

“Well… I do trust their morals. Outside of the bedroom, of course.” She flashed a tight, mirthless smile. “But their effectiveness…” The sentence trailed off, meaningfully. “I think we might accomplish more on our own.”

“Understood.” Reid clapped his hands on his thighs and stood up suddenly. “I’ll get back to work with my team. Hopefully, we’ll find something soon.” Lucinda stood as well. It was obvious that the discussion was over. “I’ll be in touch. Be sure to let me know when you complete your search.”

“I will, Mr. Oliver.”

Luke shrugged and laid a hand briefly on his grandmother’s arm before leaving. He watched Mr. Oliver closely as he followed the older man to wait in front of the elevators. He seemed deep in thought; his left hand twitched slightly against his leg. Finally the car arrived and they stepped back inside.

“You never answered my question.” Luke began as the doors closed. “What are we going to do?”

“Well, for now, we’ll keep up the security, and keep up the searching.”

“Have you talked to your boss?” Luke asked.

Reid was confused by the question. “Who did what now?”

“Um. Well, Mr. Woods mentioned something about his boss being gay. We all figured there was a Mr. Rathu who sent you all out on assignments, like Charlie’s Angles or something.” Luke could not believe the words that were dribbling out of his mouth. His felt his face heat as a blush crept up from his collar. What was it about this man that made him feel like he was still a goofy twelve-year-old?

Reid chuckled at the thought. “No. Ráthú is an old Irish word.” He pronounced it differently, with long vowels and a hissing sort of ‘h” in the middle. “It means safeguard. It’s a promise.” The soft intensity in his voice filled the quiet elevator. “And I don’t work for someone else. Honestly, I don’t know if I could. The Ráthú is mine.”

“Oh!” Luke’s faced creased slightly. “So, was he kidding when he said that…”

Damn. It would have been so much easier if he just didn’t know. But Reid had never lied about it before. “No, Mr. Snyder. He meant me. I’m gay.” He took a quick look at the young man out of the corner of his eye. He was curious as to how he would handle that bit of information.

Luke blinked hard and pulled back a bit, clearly surprised. He was also still blushing. He looked down and scratched nervously behind his ear. 

“Aah,,,”

They were both spared as the elevator reached the bottom floor. Luke stepped out and automatically turned toward the Foundation offices.

Reid stopped next to him and gestured in the other direction. “I think I should go. Need to check in with Katie and David. You good to get home?”

“Um, yeah, sure. If nothing else, Jade can give me a ride. Wow. What a long day.” He let out a long breath, then looked up and offered Reid a shy smile. “Thanks again, Mr. Oliver.” With that, he headed back down the hall.

Reid watched him for a moment, then pulled out his cell as he headed for the parking lot.

“OK Goldilocks, quit stalling.” Reid barked as Katie answered. “I need something to work with here.”

“Hey! You know I’m doing as much as I can, as fast as I can.”

“Somebody hit the offices just now.” Katie gasped. “They tossed the Foundation’s and did a quieter job on Lucinda’s. We still don’t know what they were looking for.”

“Damn. Did you call the police? Is Margo checking it out?”

“Yeah, yeah. I got to meet the famous older sister.” Reid groaned in frustration. “What are we missing, Katie?”

“We’ll find it, Reid.”

“It’s not fast enough! Just…” He paused, letting his voice calm. It wasn’t fair to take this out on his best friend. “This was someone close. Have we got the background checks for the Foundation employees? Taylor and Addington?” He balanced the phone on his shoulder as he climbed in his clown car rental.

“Yeah. Each of them have had some run-ins.” He could hear the quiet clicking of her keyboard. “Possession, trespassing, underage drinking. Minor league stuff. Nothing recent, and nothing violent. I honestly don’t think it’s either of them.”

“Keep looking; call David, have him give you the details. And get in touch with Lucinda’s assistant. We need to know what’s missing from her office, if anything.”

“Will do.”

“And Katie?” He paused for a long moment, considering.

“What is it?”

“The locals will be… hamstrung by official procedure. Ms. Walsh made it clear that she doesn’t mind if we get our hands a little dirty.”

“You want me to put Simon on this.” It wasn’t a question. “And not discuss it with Margo.”

“We need answers. I have the feeling things are ramping up.”

“We’ll find them, Reid.” She repeated. “We will.”

“Yeah, I hope so.” Reid muttered as he ended the call. “Before it’s too late.”


	13. At the Lilypad

Chapter 13

By the weekend, Luke was always happy to have a chance to hang out with his youngest siblings. As was their tradition, they all woke up early to enjoy pancakes and cartoons while Lily slept in. When she finally made her way downstairs, she was surprised to find the kids getting ready to head out. Natalie and Ethan hurried over to give good-morning hugs as Luke gathered up gifts and jackets.

“They have that birthday party today, remember?” Luke told her, over the bustle. “Mrs. Lewis said that she could take them out to the farm when it’s over.”

“Thanks for taking care of that, baby.”

“No problem. I have to drop off something with Grandmother at World Wide, and then I’ll be home around lunch. Enjoy the quiet time.” He gave her a small peck on the cheek and then the three Snyders headed out the door.

 

It had taken Luke, Jade, and Reg several days to completely set the Foundation offices to rights again. They were all glad when the last of the papers had been re-filed. As they thought, nothing appeared to be missing, although some documents were ripped or dirtied and a few items would have to be re-done. Still, not nearly as bad as it could have been. Luke stopped by the offices out of habit before heading upstairs, glad to see everything in order.  
Lucinda’s assistant was not at her desk, so Luke opened the door to her office and popped his head in. She was still on the phone, but waved him into the room. He took a seat and looked around. Nothing seemed different or out of place up here. His Grandmother insisted on a tidy work space.

“Hey, kiddo. How are you holding up?”

Luke shook his head and smiled. So many people had been asking lately, but the question sounded more sincere coming from her. “I think everything’s as good as it can be. No new trouble to report.”

“Ah, well. Let’s hope it’s not the calm before the storm. How’s your mother? Recovered from her trip to the hospital?”

Luke looked a little worried at that, a little suspicious. “She’s fine, of course. And there’s nothing wrong with the well; dad thinks it was just a fluke. But why don’t you already know that?”

Lucinda leaned back in her executive chair, took off her reading glasses, and looked up at the ceiling. For just a moment, Luke thought she looked incredibly tired. He forgot, sometimes, how much of a burden she carried. He supposed they all forgot, just got used to seeing her as the unconquerable Lucinda Walsh.

“Your mother and I aren’t seeing eye-to-eye on a few issues right now. But,” she added, looking at him fiercely, “I don’t want to put you in the middle again. We’ll sort it out. We always do. Now, what about your project? Do you have paperwork ready for me to sign?”

He handed over a thick packet of legal documents. “Why don’t you come over for lunch today? Maybe you and mom could talk.”

“Do honestly you think she’d appreciate that?” Lucinda asked, still looking over the pages before adding her signature.

Luke waited until she looked up. “I know that she loves you. And as much as you two don’t get along sometimes, I know you both hate it when you’re fighting.”

Lucinda blinked, hard, and pressed her lips together. “Ah, hell. How did you get so smart?”

 

At home, Luke led the way into the living room and stopped in surprise as he saw Mr. Woods and his mother quickly move apart. Apparently, his grandmother hadn’t missed it, either.

“And what is this, my dear? I didn’t realize that you had company. Not intruding, are we?” Lucinda asked with an air of feigned innocence. 

“Of course not. You know David, mother. He’s part of the security team. We were just discussing some details about Faith’s school.” However blameless her conversation with Mr. Woods may have been, Lily’s nervous behavior was winning her no points with her mother.

“I’m afraid I haven’t had much time to get to know Mr. Woods. I’m much more familiar with Mr. Oliver.” Lucinda settled herself imperiously on the sofa. 

“Will you be staying for lunch, mother?” Lily’s polite question had a crust of ice around it.

The tension between the two women practically filled the room. David looked at Luke hopelessly. He sat down the glass he had been holding. “Actually, I have some things I need to do, so…” He trailed off, awkwardly. “Um. If you need me, ladies, just call.” He stood and practically fled out the door. 

Luke envied him. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea after all.

“Yes. So, Grandmother, can I get you something to drink?”

“Luke, actually, would you mind taking your sister out to practice her driving? She’s been dying to have some time with the stick shift, but I’m afraid I really don’t have the patience anymore.” Luke looked from his mom to his grandmother as they stared at each other. He knew when he’d been dismissed.

“Sure. I’ll just go grab her, and we’ll head out to the farm. Lots of empty country roads.”

“Thanks, baby.” Lily offered. Luke trudged upstairs to gather his sister. At least they wouldn’t have to listen to the argument.


	14. Car trouble

Chapter 14

“Why are they still fighting? Can’t Grandmother just get it into her skull that mom and dad don’t want to be together right now?” Luke grimaced at the frustration in his sister’s voice.

“I just try not to get in the way too much, Faith. Let them work in out on their own. And don’t forget your turn signal.”

Faith snorted and shrugged. She focused on getting the car into third gear smoothly as they pulled onto the county road.

“Why do you think Grandmother’s upset right now?” Luke asked. His sister always seemed to be able to uncover the family drama.

“Well, I know she still wants mom and dad to get back together. Plus, I think she thinks that mom likes that bodyguard guy.”

“Mr. Woods?”

“Yeah, he’s been at the house kind of a lot. But I just figure that he’s there to help, right? Like your friend, Mr. Oliver.” She chuckled a bit. “I wish he’d show back up. Totally hot! You know, for a nerd.” 

“Faith!” Luke couldn’t help but laugh along with his sister. It had been a while since the two of them had spent time together just having fun.

Faith flashed him a rare smile. “Oh, c’mon. You know it! Seriously, who do think is hotter?”

“Off the record?”

“Completely.” She promised.

Luke pursed his lips and rolled a little smile around his face, making a show of considering. “Yeah, I think I have to go for hot and nerdy, too.”

“Oooh! See, I totally thought you’d go for the bear! You and David could play basketball together.” She squealed comically at the thought. “But, Luke, you’ll have to ask Mr. Oliver back over sometime. I want to show him my 92%. 92! Damn! I thought Mr. Halls was going to explode when I told him about the examples being wrong!” She wished more than anything that she’d been able to get video of the look on the old jerk’s face.

Luke reached for the over head grab handle as the car scraped around a bend in the road. “Faith, I don’t want to sound too much like mom, but don’t you think you’re going a little too fast?”

“I can’t…” Faith suddenly sounded worried. “Luke, it’s not slowing down!”

“Ok, ok. Just calm down. Try the brakes again. Make sure you’re pushing in the clutch all the way.” A small yellow car whizzed past them, heading back into town. 

“My foot’s on the floor! Oh, God Luke! There’s no… the brakes aren’t working. What do I do?” She twisted a bit in her seat.

 _Shit!_ “Keep your eyes on the road, Faith. We’re ok out here, we won’t hit anything but corn.” Luke tried to calm his own panic as the car raced around another curve. If they didn’t stop soon, they would be heading downhill. “I’m going to pull up the emergency brake. OK? The steering wheel might pull, so be ready.” He took breath and braced his legs, pulling up hard on the handle. 

The car fishtailed in the gravel, and something in the engine bumped, but the car didn’t seem to slow down at all. 

“Luke!” Faith’s knuckles were white as she gripped the steering wheel. She fought to keep the car on the road and out of the drainage ditch.

“Oh God. Alright. We should…” Luke muttered as he frantically tried to remember driver’s ed. “I think we should try to downshift.”

“What?” Faith cried, her voice frantic now.

“When I tell you, you’re going to push in the clutch, ok? All the way. I’ll move the gearshift. It’ll give us a bump.” He leaned over to take hold and prayed that the airbags wouldn’t deploy.

“Oh, shit! Oh, shit…”

“3, 2, 1, now!” Faith stomped her foot down. Luke forced the control up and the car jolted and slowed. They both jerked hard against their seatbelts. “Again, here we go. Into first. 3, 2, 1, now!” There was a horrible grinding noise from the engine, but the car slowed even more.

“That’s it, Faithy.” Luke encouraged, breathlessly. The car was barely limping along. “Put us in that field. That will stop us.”

Faith aimed at the open area and the car puttered across a few rows of soybeans. She burst into tears as it finally halted. Luke undid his seatbelt and reached over to gather her in his arms as she cried.

 

Later, he stood at the back door of the ambulance, watching his sister closely as an EMT wrapped her sprained wrist.

“Faith, baby. Are you sure you’re ok?” Lily touched her daughter’s tear smudged cheek.

“Yeah, mom. I’m fine.” She answered in a shaky voice. “You should have seen it, like something out of a movie.” Her brave little smile fooled no one.

“I’m just glad you two are alright.”

“Yeah me, too. Though Grandmother might never forgive us for wrecking the car.”

Jack Snyder walked over to them, looking grim. “We’ll have to get it towed and checked out, for sure, but I think we have to suspect tampering.”

“Yeah.” Luke swallowed hard. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

“You three can get on home. I’ll talk to Margo and we’ll call you as soon as we find anything out.”

The ride to the farm was quiet. When they arrived and climbed out of the car, they saw Holden out on the porch waiting. He covered the distance quickly and scooped up his daughter. He held her tightly until he could stop shaking. Luke walked over and rubbed his dad’s shoulder.

“You’re ok. You’re both ok.” Holden’s throat was prickly with unshed tears.

Luke felt his own eyes getting wet again. “We’re fine, dad. Just a couple of bumps.”

Finally, the group pulled apart. “Your grandma’s inside waiting with the kids. They want to hear all about it. Especially Ethan.” He tried to laugh and shepherded them all inside.


	15. Ask me what you want to know

Chapter 15

Luke looked up as the kitchen door banged open. “We have got to stop meeting like this, Mr. Snyder. Can’t you manage a week without getting yourself in trouble?” He honestly couldn’t decide if he was upset or relieved to see Mr. Oliver.

“Yeah, well. I like to make sure you’re earning your keep.” He chuckled weakly. Reid rolled his eyes.

Luke paced in the kitchen, still feeling the effects the day’s adventures. He opened a cabinet, looked inside, then closed it. He rolled his right shoulder, aching from the seatbelt. He bounced on the balls of his feet and paced again. He opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water. He winced when he closed the door a little too hard.

Reid watched this dance for a bit as he stood by the sink. The kid was a wreck. “I’m beginning to wonder if this might be more about you than your grandmother, Mr. Snyder. These last few instances have been very personal. And they are escalating.” Reid hesitated; he turned to look out the window. He knew Luke would not like this suggestion. “We may need to think about getting the kids out of the way for a while.”

“You can’t be serious!” Luke whispered furiously.

“As a heart attack.” Reid tossed over his shoulder. Luke grabbed Reid’s arm and turned him.

“I cannot send my family into hiding, Reid! They can’t put everything on hold like that for me.”

Reid felt the heat of Luke’s hand through his shirt. The younger man was only a foot from him now. “Think of this as being for them, for their safety.” Luke’s breath hitched at that. He let go of Reid and pushed away, stalking around the kitchen counter again.

“You can’t think that someone would try to hurt them to get to me?” His voice was shaky. 

“It’s what I would do.”

Luke turned back to look at the older man, his eyes wide.

Reid forced himself to be calm, professional. “You are a very caring person, Mr. Snyder. The easiest way to get to you would be through your family.” 

“How can you even think like that?” Luke sounded appalled.

“It’s my job to think like that, to plan. I’m trying to stay ahead of them.” 

Luke still looked doubtful.

Reid finally allowed a bit of his own frustration to show. “I’m not talking about sending them to Siberia, for heaven’s sake. It would be more like… an extended vacation.”

Luke shook his head, the fight suddenly gone from his voice. “I just wish I wasn’t disrupting everyone’s lives this way.” He sat down heavily at the kitchen table.

“Don’t be an idiot. You’re not to blame here. People have decided to hurt your family. That’s on them. You simply choose how you are going to respond to the threat.”

“I hate living with this hanging over my head. Sometimes it just seems like it would be better for my family if I weren’t in it.” Luke sighed.

“Are you kidding? You’re probably the best thing that’s happened to half these people.”

Luke gave a weak laugh. “That sounded dangerously close to a compliment.”

“Yeah, well, don’t let it get around. I still have my reputation to uphold.”

 

Just then, his mom bustled through the room, followed by his siblings. “Luke, I’m going to take the kids home for the night. Your dad’s going to follow us, just to be safe. Do you want a ride home?”

“No, I need to discuss a few things with Mr. Oliver first.”

“Ok, baby. Your grandma’s upstairs if you need anything. Just call me later.” Luke nodded and gave her a quick hug.

Faith approached Reid. “So. I got a 92% on that stupid assignment.” She said, trying hard to be nonchalant.

Reid’s mouth curled up a bit. He bumped her gently on the shoulder with his elbow. “See, I told you you could do it.”

“Yeah, well…”

“And I hear you saved the day today.”

Faith gave a tight little nod. She crossed her arms protectively around herself and looked at the floor. It was supposed to be great to be the hero. So why did it make her feel all tied up in knots?

Luke watched his mom and dad shoo the kids out the door. When they had all bundled out, he found himself unexpectedly alone in the quiet house with Mr. Oliver. 

“Well, I should… I should go. I’m sure you…”

“Stay?” Luke asked before he could think better of it. “Actually I’d like the company.” Luke gave a half-hearted smile and let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. There was another long pause as his eyes dropped back to the counter. 

“So you don’t have to think about it?”

“Why is this happening, Reid? Why are they doing this?” It actually hurt to hear that frustration in Luke’s voice.

“I’m still trying to figure that out, Mr. Snyder.”

“Yeah. About that. I’m kinda terrified that the most brilliant tactical mind on planet earth hasn’t figured out who’s trying to kill me.” He tried to use his sarcasm to push the fear away. 

Reid hesitated again and answered slowly. “I don’t actually think they are.”

“What?” Luke’s head snapped up.

“I don’t think whoever is doing this is actually trying to kill you.” This was something that Reid had been thinking for a while, now. 

Luke snorted. “Sure seems like it.”

“If they really wanted you dead, you’d already be dead.” Reid paused again, letting that sink in. “They’ve already had plenty of opportunities.”

Luke’s face paled. 

“No, I think this is more about shaking you up, getting under your skin.” And, that was the part that was ticking Reid off immensely. “Someone wants to hurt you, make you suffer a bit, wants you to feel scared.”

“Well it’s working.” Luke took a shaky breath, then reached for his water bottle. Reid watched as the younger man paced again and pulled his arms tightly around himself.

“That’s why I’m pretty sure it isn’t the Grimaldis. With that bunch, it’s always about the money. Power, too. In the past, I know they’ve tried kidnapping.” Here, Luke made another pained sound. “But now that the inheritance from Damian is secured, and Damian himself is on your side, they aren’t likely to take such a direct course. This feels too personal.”

“I’ve never hurt anybody!” Luke protested, shaking his head. The idea seemed to wound him.

“Not in your mind, no. But to them… It could be someone you didn’t even know you were hurting.” Reid sighed and reached for the words that could explain all this darkness to mister sunshine. “Maybe it’s someone you had to fire, or someone who wanted to date you and felt rejected. Someone who, for some twisted reason of their own thought that you owed them something and is now ticked off that they can’t have it. And, honestly, it’s still very likely that this is all about Lucinda. It was her car after all.”

Luke sounded weary. “So why have you been digging around in my personal history?”

“I’m sorry. I really am.” And for the first time in his professional career, he actually was. “I know it’s embarrassing and painful, but there may be a clue there, something you’re not seeing.” 

“Ok.” Luke sighed. “I guess I get it. It just seems unfair that you know so much about me and I know so little about you.” 

Reid’s face twisted up in confusion. “Why do you want know about me?” 

To Luke, it seemed obvious. “I guess I’d like to know something about the person I’m spending so much time with.” And Reid realized that they had been spending a good deal of time together. So much for keeping his distance.

“Well, that’s an… unprecedented idea.” Reid’s brow furrowed at the thought. “Most people don’t care. I just come in to solve problems. I leave when the problem is over. Most people can’t wait to get rid of me.”

“I guess I’m unusual, then. I’m still just trying to figure you out.” Then he flashed one of his megawatt smiles.

Reid pondered for a moment. All of his professional instincts were telling him to walk away. Complication, personal entanglements. But…

“Fair enough, Mr. Snyder.” He spread his hands in surrender. “Ask me what you what to know.”


	16. A little chess

Chapter 16

Luke stared at the man in front of him and gave a sheepish smile. He could feel a blush creeping up his neck. The scrutiny of those ice-blue eyes was too intense. He had to look away. “Well, now suddenly I’m the one who doesn’t want to talk.”

Reid rolled his eyes. Damn. Did this kid even realize how fucking adorable he looked? Fleetingly, the thought came to him that they were practically alone here, out in the middle of nowhere. He remembered touring the house during the security check. Upstairs, he knew, were several bedrooms. With beds.  
He cleared his throat and put that thought carefully aside. “How about that chess game?”

Luke was surprised. “What? Now?”

“Sure.” Reid shrugged. His voice turned sly, teasing. “And how about we make it interesting?”

“Um, what did you have in mind?” Luke’s eyes were narrow, but his lips quirked up a bit and he seemed a little more lighthearted.

“Every time you capture one of my pieces,” Reid laid down the challenge with a small tilt of his head, “I’ll answer one of your questions.”

That brought an even bigger grin. “Pretty sure of yourself, there, aren’t ya’?”

“Junior chess champion. I doubt if you’ll even get five.”

 

Reid was fairly impressed with Luke’s skill. He was a long way from being a real threat, but it was still an enjoyable game. He even found himself actually looking forward to the questions as Luke took men off the board. 

“Why is it that you’re always wearing the same clothes?” He blurted out. “I mean, they look good and everything, but…”

Reid chuckled. He remembered that Katie had asked him that once, too. “It’s just easier. I don’t have to pick things out. I know it matches.” He shrugged. “Worked for Einstein.”

“Do you do laundry every night?”

“No, I have multiples. And I do own other clothes.” That was another thing Katie had wanted to know. “I actually own a suit.”

“Really?”

“Yup.”

 

Reid wasn’t quite as prepared for the next one.

“So, in high school, were you out?”

“Yeah, I was.”

“Were you harassed?” Luke asked with a concerned little smile.

“Well, I did get a little bit. But honestly, it was more about me being me than me being gay. I was the science nerd guy in high school. Plus, I was a couple of years younger than everyone else in my grade. Add my winning personality, and there you go.” Reid made an absent-minded little gesture with his hand as he studied the board. “Though it was nothing like what you went through.”

Luke looked shocked. “Wait, how do you know what I went through in high school?”

“I read your old online journal.” 

“You read my blog?” Luke’s voice squeaked up again. He tried frantically to remember what he had written there.

Reid chuckled. “C’mon. It was a web log, Mr. Snyder. Online. Public consumption. I’m honestly kind of surprised that no one in your family ever found it.” He made his own move and waited as Luke considered his counter. He still seemed embarrassed. 

 

When Luke took his next piece, he had his question ready. “You said that you played chess as a kid. Competitively, yeah? ” He began slowly.

Reid nodded.

“Well, what was that like?”

“It was…” Reid paused. What was it like? To him, at the time, it had simply been normal, a way of life. “It was fun, for a while. I liked the challenge, the travel. I liked winning.” He smirked up at Luke. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and interlacing his long fingers. “Then it got to be a chore. Sometimes I felt more like a trained seal than a kid.” The crooked little grin fell away. 

“What’s the best thing you remember about it?” Luke found that he wanted to see that smile again. 

Reid leaned back, scanning his memory for something. “In 1988, I got to go to the World Youth Chess Championships in Romania. I was 11.” 

“Wow. That sounds pretty impressive.”

“It was. Especially at the time. It was the end of Cold War and things were starting to break up. The Communist countries were inviting people in for the first time in decades. We were all so sure that we were little cultural ambassadors of peace and goodwill.” Reid shook his head slightly at the memory. 

Luke chuckled at the thought of a serious-faced little Reid Oliver facing down chess opponents in a foreign country. “How did you do?”

“I placed second, behind Eran Liss from Israel.” 

 

The game resumed. Reid thought he could end it in couple of moves. “So, then, how does one go from child chess champion to security consultant?” Luke smiled as he captured Reid’s knight. 

“Well, that wasn’t the plan. I originally wanted to be a doctor, a surgeon. I was actually starting my post grad work at Harvard Med.” Reid looked down. Suddenly his face was blank, shuttered.

“And then?” Luke asked softly.

“And then, I was in…. an accident. I was in hospital and rehab for most of a year.” He held up his left hand, looking at it. “I never did regain my full range of motion.” He opened and closed his fingers, flexed his wrist. His voice was flat, almost dispassionate, as he told Luke about the end of his dreams. He turned back to look at the young man. Reid shook his head at the expression on Luke’s face.

“Don’t.” He snapped.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t pity me.” 

Luke looked up at him, carefully. “I don’t pity you, Reid; it’s just sympathy.”

“Sympathy is over rated, Mr. Snyder.”

Luke snorted. “Can’t you let anybody care about you?” To Luke, that seemed like the most terrible fate of all. So many times, when awful things had happened, the only thing that had pulled him through was the caring and support of his family. 

“Check mate, by the way.” Luke slumped into the back of the couch, watching Reid make his final move. “And no.”

Luke looked at him, puzzled.

“I don’t like to let anyone care about me. It’s easier that way.” He busied himself with the chess board, tucking all the pieces neatly away in the decorative box. When he turned back around, he realized that Luke had moved much closer.

“Easier again.” Luke was staring at him. Easier for whom?” The air suddenly seemed too thick; it was hard to pull in a full breath.

“You’re out of questions, Mr. Snyder.” Reid’s voice came out in a rough half-whisper. “The game is over.” 

Seeing the heat and nerves in the older man’s eyes gave Luke a shot of courage. When was the last time that he had made someone nervous? “You know, you should call me Luke.” He slid even closer.

“And why… Why should I do that?” Reid stuttered as Luke moved again.

“Mr. Snyder,” Reid could feel the warm words against his cheek, “is my father. I’m Luke.”

“Luke… I…”

Luke leaned forward to press his lips against Reid’s. It was a gentle first kiss, a soft, tentative question that quickly slid into something deeper. Reid’s hand came to curl around the side of the younger man’s neck, his thumb lightly brushing across Luke’s cheekbone. For a long moment, Reid stopped thinking, stopped planning, and stopped hiding. He wanted to curl up inside this kiss and stay forever.

Luke felt electricity buzz down his spine and straight to his groin. It had been so damn long since he’d kissed someone this way. His mind fuzzed a little as he licked at Reid’s lips and felt them open to him. He made a small, needy sound in the back of his throat and pressed closer, sliding his hand up Reid’s chest.

That little sound echoed in Reid’s brain and snapped him awake. He pulled away suddenly, breathing heavily. “I can’t do this.” He swallowed, forcing himself to look into Luke’s soft hazel eyes. “I can’t do this, Luke.” He repeated carefully. 

Luke’s faced crumpled. He seemed on the verge of tears. “Reid…”

He had to close his eyes at the sound of his name whispered from Luke Snyder’s kiss-swollen lips. “I can’t be with someone I’m being paid to protect.” He knew it was true, but right now it sounded like the flimsiest excuse. He pulled his hand back. How they hell had it ended up like this? He was shaking for fuck’s sake!

He stood, bumping his knee on the coffee table. “I should go.”

Luke looked up at him and gave a barely perceptible nod. He took a deep breath and got to his feet. Carefully, he reached over and took Reid’s right hand in both of his. He closed his eyes, as if choosing his words carefully. Then he looked up from under his long lashes. “When this is all over?”

Reid shook his head. “Luke, I don’t…”

Luke interrupted him with a small, quick kiss and Reid was too astonished to react. “When the job is done, then we can… I’d like to see… where this goes.”


	17. Work is better than whiskey

Chapter 17

Luke stared at the ceiling in his old bedroom, unable to close his eyes. He kept rolling the day around in his mind. He saw Faith’s terrified face, asking him what to do. The trees and corn whipping by. He remembered his mother rushing up to the ambulance. The fear in his dad’s voice. 

He replayed the chess game, practically felt himself leaning in for that kiss…

It had been exhilarating, after so long, to feel that rush of passion. How long had it been since he had felt something like that? He thought back to the last months with Noah. Geez! He had just broken up with Noah, and here he was kissing someone else. Did that make him some sort of slut? 

He reminded himself that he should probably be upset about it. Was Reid upset about it? It was over the line, really, making that kind of move on the man. Someone his grandmother had hired. Was it sexual harassment? Honestly, what had possessed him? Leftover adrenaline, general horniness? 

And Reid would be leaving soon, going back to New York as soon as the job was finished. So anything between them would be short term. Was that what he wanted? Could he handle a hook-up with a hot guy before he rode off into the sunset? Wait, New York was east, so… sunrise? Dose the hot cowboy ever ride off into the sunrise? Maybe an urban cowboy. 

Luke realized his thoughts were getting a little crazy, even for him. He sighed, rolled over, punched his pillow, and tried once more to get some sleep.

 

To Reid, the hotel room suddenly seemed like a germ-infested prison cell. He stopped in just long enough to determine the status of his neighbors’ love life, gather his laptop case, and grumble back down to the hotel lounge. He found that the public areas were mostly empty at this time of night and commandeered a corner table. He spread his notes out, nodded to the bartender to bring him a beer. And he most emphatically did not think at all about kissing Luke Snyder.

An hour later, he saw Lucinda Walsh slide into the room and place an order at the bar. Then she walked over to him. 

“Working late, Mr. Oliver.” She greeted him as she sat down at his table.

Reid spared her a sidelong glance. He could see shadows under her eyes, very dark against her pale skin. She had an excellent poker face, but Reid knew she had to be upset. He took a quick pull of his beer. He sat back, watching her expectantly.

She paused for the waiter to deliver her drink. Reid was surprised to see a squat glass of amber spirits. He would have pegged Lucinda Walsh as a Bloody Mary kind of woman.

“As a cure for worrying,” she quoted, holding up the glass, “work is better than whiskey.” He quirked an eyebrow up at her. “Ralph Waldo Emerson.” She supplied.

“I never worry about action, only inaction.” He countered.

“That’s Churchill again. See, I told you he was good.” She took a slow drink and sat the glass back on the table. “My family is the most important this in this world to me, Mr. Oliver.” Her voice wavered ever so slightly.

Reid nodded.

“I’ve buried four husbands and divorced two. My brother and sister barely speak to me. My daughters can’t stand me half the time because they think I’m too interfering. Most everyone else thinks I’m either a cast iron ball breaker or a doddering old idiot.”

That earned a disbelieving chuckle from Reid. He’d known this woman only a few weeks and already he admired the hell out of her. 

“And then there’s Luke.” She sighed. “I know a grandmother’s not supposed to have favorites, but…” She waved her hand, picked up her glass for another drink. Reid took another sip of his beer.

“You have to find them.” She glared at him. “You have to find whoever is doing this and stop them.” Her eyes shimmered with angry, unshed tears.

“I will.” Reid’s soft words somehow seemed just as fierce.

The promise seemed to satisfy her. She leaned back into her chair, relaxing for a moment. They each took another drink. A couple wandered through the bar, holding hands and giggling. Lucinda and Reid sat in companionably silence.

“I have quite a bit of research on you, as well.”

“It’s to be expected.”

“You lost your parents young, as I recall.”

Reid nodded, unsure where this conversation was headed. 

“And then, that business with your uncle.”

That one never failed to sting. “And your point would be…?”

“If you’d be willing, we could use you here.”

Reid smirked and shook his head. “I don’t belong here, Ms. Walsh. And I don’t play well with others. My life is back in New York.”

“Not a lot to go back to, if I understand correctly.” 

He didn’t bother to answer in the pause she left.

She finished off her whiskey in a large, unladylike swig and rose. “Think about it. You might find that Oakdale has some attractions after all.”

Reid stared after her, feeling a bit numb. Stay in Oakhell? How crazy would someone have to be to actually live in this place? For a moment, he considered his tiny third floor walk-up with its faint, persistent smell of cabbage and beige walls. Katie, Simon, and the boys were always close, but he actually saw them more on his computer screen than in person. Not a lot to go back for, indeed. But what was here that could be worth staying?

An image popped into his mind of sitting on the couch at the farm with Luke Snyder, his honey-gold hair, expressive eyes, and sweet, soft lips. He groaned to himself, pinched the bridge of his nose. How the hell had this kid crawled under his skin in a week? He was Reid Oliver. He didn’t believe in love at first sight, or any of that fairy tale crap. He needed to get this job wrapped up and get the hell out of Mayberry before he lost his mind completely. 

He forced his mind back to work, looking over paperwork and checking police reports until well after midnight. When the bartender finally shooed him out, he felt like he could finally turn off his brain and get some sleep.


	18. Is that it?

Chapter 18

Early Monday morning, Reid woke to the sound of his phone beeping at him. He rolled over and fumbled blindly for it in on his nightstand.

“Oliver.” He grunted, rubbing his bleary eyes.

“I’m sorry, Reid.” Katie’s voice was almost frantic. “But I just couldn’t wait on this.”

Reid looked at the clock. If it was 6:32 here, what the hell time was it in New York? “It’s good, Katie. Just hit me with it.”

“Simon just got home. We’ve been doing some digging on the files that Lucinda reported missing, checking financials. One name stands out.” She paused. “It’s my brother, Reid. It’s Craig Montgomery.”

Reid sat up. Shit. Just shit. “OK. I’m gonna grab some coffee. Call David, would you? Tell him to come to my room. Video conference in five minutes.” He snapped his phone closed, stumbled over to the kitchen bar, and started the machine dripping. He splashed a handful of cool water in his face to shock himself awake. 

He pulled open the door a couple of minutes later to admit David, who was looking frustratingly well-rested. He didn’t say a word, but simply moved to set up the equipment. Soon, Katie was on the screen. Reid could just see Simon moving in the background. 

“It looks like he was trying to acquire that data company out from under World Wide.”

“Wait, wait. Start at the beginning.” Reid took a large drink of coffee, hoping the caffeine would wake him up. 

“Craig Montgomery, my half-brother. He’s had run-ins with Lucinda Walsh for years. Two weeks ago, he made a last minute cash bid that tops the offer from World Wide by almost five percent. They’d be crazy to turn him down.” 

“Are they worth that much?”

“No, not by themselves. But they handle all of the out-sourced computer programming for Walsh Industries. If Craig was able to purchase them, he would control all the data going through World Wide, possibly all of Lucinda’s holdings. Payroll, taxes, purchasing, shipping. He could hold her over the barrel for the computer services and make a killing on insider information on the back end.”

“Is he the kind of guy who would stoop to all the nasty tricks?” David asked.

“Oh, yeah. And more. His sheet’s a mile long, but he always manages to slip out of jail time somehow. Plus, he’s worked at World Wide, so he would know the lay-out and security.”

“Sounds like we’ve got a motive, and solid suspect. Great job, there, Blondie.” Back at her home office, Katie beamed. Praise from Reid Oliver was rare fruit. “But what’s our proof? And how do we nail him?”

“Oh, Margo will pull him in without a second thought. Then we can search his home and offices. Those files are still missing. If he has them, that’s all we need to nail him on the B and E.”

David seemed surprised. “She would really do that? Isn’t he her brother, too.”

“Craig’s never been anything but trouble for our family. If he’s involved, she’d want to make sure that he couldn’t hurt anyone else.” She sounded a little fierce. Reid shared a look with David. Obviously there was a lot of history. “Plus, with Lucinda’s contacts, I don’t think we’ll have a problem getting a search warrant.”

“OK, then. I’ll head to the PD, see if we can get things moving.” David offered. He looked over at his boss. “You look like you still need some sleep.”

“No. I’m up now. Just let me get dressed.” Completely unembarrassed, Reid crossed the room, stripped off his old Harvard crimson sweatpants, and pulled on his jeans. 

“We need to move fast on this, guys. If Craig knows that we suspect him, he’ll make a break for it. He can slither out of almost anything.” It was a measure of her concern that Katie didn’t even spare a glance at Reid changing clothes.

David had his eyes fixed on the coffee table. “I’ll run over there right now. I’ve been working with the locals, plus there’s that blue fraternity that could help.”

“No. Katie, just call Margo from your end, explain things to her.” Reid suggested as he buttoned his shirt. “I’ll stick with David, meet her at the station.”

“Will do, boss.”


	19. Loose ends

Chapter 19

Reid and David drove to the station to find Margo already in motion. “Thank you, Your Honor. We all appreciate you getting this so quickly.” She was giving orders before the phone even clicked down on its base. “We have the search warrant.” She motioned to a uniformed officer standing next to her. “Get the team in.”

She motioned Reid and David into the interview room. “We have officers in place at his apartment already. We should know something any time. Now, I’d like to take statements from each of you.”

“Statements from us? Why? That’s hardly standard procedure.” David seemed suspicious.

“Just to make absolutely sure we have all our ducks in a row on this.” The detective sighed and walked over to the coffee machine. “Craig has always managed to keep himself out of jail, avoid any consequences. We need to close any loopholes he could exploit.” She gave Reid a steely glare. “I’m not asking for anything I shouldn’t know.”

“Still haven’t warmed up to Simon as a brother-in-law, have you, detective?” Reid shot back with a knowing grin.

Margo’s voice was hard. “If there was anything underhanded about any of the evidence gathering, Craig’s lawyers will find a way to get it thrown out of court. I want to make this stick, Oliver. I want a conviction on this.”

Reid responded with sarcastic humor. “Gosh. Family dinners must be a blast as your house.”

Detective practically snarled at him. “If Craig did this, he needs to be brought to justice.” She handed over paper and pens. “Please. Just write out your statements.” She left the room without another word. 

“Ever notice how when a cop says ‘please’ it doesn’t sound the least bit polite?” He chuckled and looked over at David. “No offence.”

“Huh?” David shook himself a bit, as if he’d been lost in thought.

“Something wrong?”

“No. Not at all. Just wondering how he did it all. Someone must have seen him around town.”

“Accomplice, probably. We’ll catch up with them. The hired help is never all that smart.”

David gave a weak laugh. “Yeah. Some idiot left holding the bag.” The two men bent to start filling out paperwork over cups of some brutal police station coffee.


	20. Bad guy arrested, so what now?

Chapter 20

Craig Montgomery’s arrest was surprisingly straightforward. The police had managed to catch him before he woke, and slapped the cuffs on him as he stood in his boxers. Several incriminating files from the World Wide offices were found in his home.

The news hit the Oakdale gossip circuit before Luke was even in the office the next morning. His mom had greeted him with it at breakfast, and she had received a dawn phone call from Lucinda. To Luke’s great relief, the arrest seemed to have caused a bit of a thaw in the Walsh family relationship. 

He was not surprised to find Jade and Reg waiting to pepper him with questions as he walked in the door.

“So, this was all Craig Montgomery?” Jade asked, her attitude bounced between morbid excitement and shocked indignation. She reached out to brace herself on the back of a chair. 

“Looks like it.” Luke gave a weary smile. With the new developments, he seriously doubted anyone would be talking about anything else all day. 

“At least it’s all over.” Reg sounded relieved. “Now things can get back to normal around here. Or at least as normal as they get.” He added with a grin.

Jade looked puzzled. “Why did he trash our offices?”

“I’m still not sure about that.” Luke shrugged. “I guess it was just a distraction while he got at Grandmother’s files.”

“But he couldn’t do both at the same time.” Jade shook her head slightly. Her eyes narrowed. 

“No. They’re still looking for his accomplice. I’m sure the police will find him.” Luke felt he had to say, even though he agreed more with Reg as he rolled his eyes and scoffed. 

“Is everything ok?” Jade asked. “I mean, I thought you’d be happy about all this. But you seem kinda upset.”

“No. No, I’m fine.” Luke answered, bouncing on his toes with nervous energy. “It’s great. And you’re right . Everything will back to normal.” He walked over to a desk and began looking through some papers. “No more threats, no more danger to the kids. No more,” he sighed, “extra security.”

“Right.” Reg exchanged a worried look with Jade. “So, what’s up?”

Luke paused, pinched his lips together before... “I kissed him!” He blurted out. He looked at his friends, part embarrassed, part hopeful.

“Noah?” Reg demanded.  
“Craig Montgomery!?” Jade asked at the same time. Her eyebrows shot into her bangs.

Luke had to laugh. He waved his hands in front of him, cutting them off. “No, no, no! God, no. No.” He took a steadying breath. “I kissed Reid. I kissed Mr. Oliver.”

The two could not have looked more stunned if their guesses had been correct. Jade’s mouth was actually hanging open slightly. Reg’s expression turned quickly to amusement.

“Way to go, Luke!” He clapped him on the shoulder. “You bitch! Give us the details.” He straddled a chair and looked up at Luke, like a kid waiting for story time.

Luke sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. Leave it to Reg. “Well, it was Saturday night, after the… car thing.” That caused a couple of dark, worried looks. “And I was at the farm when he showed up. We were talking…” How had it happened, exactly? “I asked him about himself, and he didn’t want to talk. So we made a bit of a bet.” Reg waggled his eyebrows playfully and smiled. Luke blushed to the roots of his hair. “We played chess.”

“Strip chess?” Reg interjected. Jade smacked him in the arm.

“No, Reg. Do you want to hear this or not?” Luke asked with mock severity. Reg briefly hung his head. “We played chess for questions. So I could get to know him. And when it was over…”

“Yeah?” Jade prompted.

“I just… hell. I don’t even know why I did it.” Luke scrubbed his face with his hands. “It was like a dream, you know. I just couldn’t stop myself. We were sitting on the sofa; he was there, looking all...” Luke gestured with his hands. “And I leaned over and… kissed him.” Luke could feel his body tingle, just remembering it.

“Wow.” Jade breathed out, feeling just a tad envious. “So, did he kiss you back?”

Luke flashed a huge grin. “Oh, yeah.”

“How was it?” Reg wanted to know.

“It was… Guys, it was fantastic. I don’t even have words.” Damn. “And now I don’t know what to do.”

“What do you mean?” Reg asked incredulously. “It looks like he rocked your world. So go get him!”

Luke seemed to deflate. He closed his eyes and shook his head sadly. “I can’t.”

Jade jumped in on that one. “Why the hell not?”

“He told me that he couldn’t get involved with a client.” He shrugged a little.

“Well, now that Craig has been arrested, that’s over.” Jade waved her hand, as if flicking away the obstacle. 

“Yeah, his job here is over. So he’ll l be going back home. To New York.”

“Oh, right.” Reg thought for a moment. “It could be a complication, but that doesn’t have to stop you.”

“I know, I know. But. Long distance never works, you know. Plus, I don’t even know him that well, anyway.” Maybe this would hurt less if he could talk himself out of it. “Cause, yeah, we’re attracted, sure. But what does that mean, really?” He shook his head. “Who knows what he’s really like?” 

“I have an idea.” Jade announce, jumping up. “Let’s do some digging on him.” She sat down at her computer and pulled up a search engine.

“I don’t know, Jade.” Luke said, as Reg crowded behind the desk. “I don’t think he’d appreciate that.”

“Oh, please. Tit for tat. He knows all about you.” She gave Luke a little head shake and a sly little grin. “It’s only fair.”

Almost against his will, Luke moved over behind his friends. He wondered what they could find out, what secrets Reid Oliver might be hiding. He watched as Jade pulled up information about Rathu Security. Not much there, but a good picture of him scowling handsomely at the camera.

“So, anything else we know about him?”

Luke thought back to his chess game. “He said he went to Harvard for med school.” Jade started typing. “He left when he was in a big accident.”

Reg frowned at the screen. “How old is he? Do we know that?”

“Oh!” Luke practically hopped as he remembered. “He said he was 11 in 1988. And that he went to the World Youth Chess competition in Romania.”

“Ok.” Jade did some quick math. “That would make him 34…” Reg shot a significant look in Luke’s direction. “So maybe ’99 or after.” She muttered, thinking aloud.

“No, wait. He said he was younger than his class in high school. Probably more like ’97.”

The three were so engrossed in the search that Luke was startled when his phone rang. He jumped a bit, scrabbled it from his pocket and checked the readout.

“Guys, it’s the police station. I’ll take it in my office.” Reg nodded a bit absently as Jade continued pulling up information. Luke closed the door behind him as he flipped the phone open.

“This is Luke.”

“Hey, Luke. It’s Jack. I wanted to know if you could come down to the station today and make formal statement.”

“Sure thing. I can be over in a bit.”

“Thanks, kid. Margo wants to make sure this is as tight as possible.” Luke sighed as he hung up and thought of the work he still needed to get done. Who would ever have thought that giving away money for a living involved so much damn paperwork? And, of course, everything seemed to grind to a halt when the drama hit the fan. He grabbed his keys and went back out. “Hey guys, they want me to…” He stopped.

Reg looked up at him with wide eyes and an uncharacteristically sober expression. Jade was still staring at the computer screen. She was covering her mouth with her fingers and seemed terribly shaken, her face looked pale. 

“What’s going on, guys?” Luke moved over to the desk. “What did you find?”


	21. Matchmaking fever

Chapter 21

“What’s wrong?” Luke repeated when neither Jade nor Reg answered. “What is it?”

Jade simply gestured at the monitor. When Luke looked at what she had uncovered, he gasped in shock at the gruesome picture. A burnt van lay twisted across a highway, parts and glass strewn about like confetti. Police, fire and rescue personnel were on the scene. Someone was being pulled into an ambulance on a stretcher, a bloodied face just visible above a protective collar. A white sheet covered an uncomfortable shape in the background. Luke skimmed over the article, not reading, just taking in odd phrases.

Three killed, four seriously wounded in tragic accident. Spring Break for a Cause. Drunk Driver. Harvard mourns the loss of medical students. 

Kelly Matthews. George Liang. Ben Fox. Michelle Bradford. Sam Jones. Kia Soater...

Reid Oliver.

For a moment, Luke seriously thought he was going to be sick. Was that Reid’s broken body strapped to a board? Was it a friend? Looking at the vehicle, it was amazing that anyone had survived at all.

He took a couple of ragged breaths. “Ok. That’s it.” He began, his voice shaky and quiet. “Guys, just… That was Uncle Jack on the phone. I’ve got to go down to the police station, so…” He paused again. 

“Luke, I…” Jade started. 

“Let’s just put this aside for now. Get started on the tax paperwork, and… I’ll be back soon.”

 

On the short drive, Luke turned on the car radio, hoping to keep the photo off his mind. It didn’t really help. He kept imagining what must have happened that day, how much pain Reid would have gone through. The year of hospitalization Reid had so casually mentioned suddenly seemed terribly real.

 

Reid and David finished their statements. An officer collected the pages and asked them to wait until they could be typed up and signed.

David expelled a long breath and tossed his pen on the table. “Well boss, I guess that’s it for us. Craig Montgomery will finally go to jail.”

“We still need to get the hired help.” Reid rolled his neck, still feeling the effects of his late nights and the early morning wake up call. Nothing a hot shower and sixteen hours of uninterrupted sleep wouldn’t cure.

“Yeah. So…” David looked carefully away. He tried to keep his voice neutral. “You think the job’s not finished. That’s why you want to hang around?”

“Of course, why else?”

He gestured idly with his hand. “I dunno, I thought maybe there was someone…”

Reid groaned. “Do not finish that sentence.”

Committed to the conversation, David turned back to face his boss. “Seriously, Reid, what are you doing about that?”

“About what?” It was bad enough having Katie on his case, but now David, too?

His partner simply raised his eyebrows slightly and tilted his head.

“I don’t get involved with clients. Hard and fast rule, there. You know that.”

“Well, you don’t really get involved with much of anyone, lately.” David muttered, looking into his Styrofoam cup.

“There was Peter.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot the Russian.” David paused for effect. “Date from hell, if I remember.” 

“Yeah, it wasn’t that bad.” Reid scowled.

“You called from the restaurant to have Simon come and fake an emergency.”

Reid simply shrugged.

“Snyder isn’t a client. He never was, actually. And,” David continued to point out, “now the job’s over. So even if there had been a conflict…”

Reid scraped his chair back, stood, and poked his head out the door of the interview room. How long did it take to type two pages of statement?

“Look, all I’m saying is that it might be time to get back out there. Luke actually seems like kind of a nice guy, for a change.” David rolled his eyes. “I mean, the last guy I remember you seeing more than once was that prick of a lawyer, what eight months ago?”

Reid’s eyes narrowed as he looked back. “I am not discussing my love life with you.” He sounded vaguely indignant.

“You don’t have a love life, Oliver. If you actually want one, you need to take your shot here.”

“My shot?” 

David gave him his best “you-know-what-I-mean” look. “All I’m saying is that you need to ask him out.”

“What would be the point of that? He lives here; I’m in New York. He’s 13 years younger than I am. He’s… he’s… Nice. And I’m, well, me. And then, there’s… everything else. It just… wouldn’t work.” It wouldn’t. No use getting all worked up about it.

“Reid, even a Hail Mary at the buzzer is better than taking a knee and losing the game.”

These sports analogies were killing him. “David, I have… no idea what you’re talking about.” Reid shook his head.

“Man, for a genius, you’re clueless. Ask. Him. Out.”

“Yeah… I don’t…” Maybe… 

David gave a little half smirk. “Katie thinks you should.”

“Despite what everyone seems to think, Katie is not the boss of me.” Reid pinched the bridge of his nose. “Even if I did…with my…” He was rescued from this horrifying discussion by a plainclothes officer returning with typed statements for them to look over and sign. Finally they were free to go.

 

Unfortunately, escaping his friend was not quite as easy. David picked up the conversation as they headed to the front door. “Why are you fighting this so hard? I’m not telling you to propose to the guy, just ask him to dinner.” 

“Why are you fighting _for_ this?” Reid barked a disbelieving laugh. “Did you catch matching making fever from Katie?”

“I don’t know Reid, maybe your friends would actually like to see you happy.”

“I’m fine. I’m happy.” To the other man’s incredulous look he added, “This is me, happy.” 

David grinned and nodded down the hall, past Reid’s shoulder. “Well. Perfect timing. One dinner, and I’ll never mention your love life ever again.”

Reid rolled his eyes. Of course. He didn’t even have to turn to recognize who had just entered the station.


	22. Dinner?

Chapter 22

Luke’s thoughts were still so much on Reid’s accident and Reid in pain as he arrived at the police station that it was a bit of a shock to see the man in person. He stopped short just inside the entryway door. He had a sudden foolish urge to rush over to him and touch him, make sure he was alright.

Instead, he plastered a not-too-fake smile on his face and forced himself to walk up to the two men.

“Mr. Snyder. Good morning.” David greeted him. He smiled a bit as both Luke and Reid ignored him to stare at each other. He clapped Reid on the shoulder. “I’m just gonna hit the head before we get going. Too much coffee this morning.” 

Luke nodded absently in response. Reid looked at him with narrowed eyes. David simply stepped behind Luke, raised his eyebrows to give his boss a significant look, and then moved down the hall toward the restrooms.

“So. Craig.” Luke began, rocking slightly on the balls of his feet.

“Yup. We just got done. Giving our statements.” _Smooth, Reid. Real smooth._

“That’s why I’m here. Making a statement.” _Shit. Could you sound more like a teenager, Luke?_

Reid nodded. There was a long awkward pause.

Luke looked down at the floor and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I guess I’m still a little slow.”

“Hmm?” 

“Why did he attack me, and the kids, and mom?” Luke shook his head. “Why did he trash the office?”

Reid let out a long breath. “Probably just a distraction. Looks like he needed some time to pull together the money, set things up. With all of us running around looking for a killer, he could work on the business aspect.”

“That was it?” Luke’s voice cracked slightly. “That seems so cold. Even for Craig.” 

Reid nodded. There was another pause as both searched for something to say.

“So. I guess… your job’s over. What will you do now?”

 _What the hell. What did he have to lose?_ “Well,” Reid ventured, “I was thinking… maybe… dinner.”

Luke’s face scrunched in confusion. “It’s ten o’clock in the morning, Reid.”

He laughed, a little nervously. “No, you have dinner. With me. Us, having dinner together.” _Ugh._

Luke stared at him for a moment, a real grin creeping up on his face and pulling out those dimples. “You mean like, go on a date?”

“Isn’t that how relationships start?”

“So, this is a relationship, is it?”

Reid sighed, dramatically. “Yeah, what was I thinking? I don’t do relationships.”

“But you’re asking me out.” Luke teased.

“I might be willing to make an exception. In your case.”

Luke blushed and smiled down at his shoes.

Reid tilted his head to try and catch the younger man’s eye. “How about seven? I could pick you up at your place.”

“How about I pick you up? I’m not sure both of us will fit in that thing you’re driving.” Luke suddenly remembered that he enjoyed the teasing and flirting. 

“Deal.” 

“Ok. Well, see you then, I guess.” Luke glanced over to the glass doors into the squad room. “Better go. Do that… police business… thing.”

“Yeah. Just…” Reid grinned. “See you tonight.” 

 

Jack looked over the paper as Luke quickly read it through and added his signature.

“Thanks a lot, Luke. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but this will help put Craig away where he belongs.”

“I just don’t understand how Craig could do all of this.”

“He’s always been bad news, Luke…”

“No,” Luke interrupted, “I mean, physically. Somebody would have seen him, right? Recognized him? He wasn’t at the house on Saturday, so how was he able to tamper with the car?” 

Jack nodded, understanding. “He said he was working with a man named Paul Williams. And that most of the scare tactics came from the accomplice. Might just be…”

“Wait a minute, Jack. I know that name.” Luke stood up and began to pace. “Paul Williams. I think he came out to the farm once.”

“Luke, what do you remember?” Jack asked in a low, serious voice.

“One evening I brought dinner out to dad and the kids after work.” Luke dropped his head back and closed his eyes, wracking his brain. “Burgers and shakes from Al’s. And dad was waiting on a potential buyer to come out and look at the yearlings.” His eyes snapped open to look at his uncle. “I’m pretty sure that was the guy’s name.”

“Did you meet him?”

Luke shook his head. “Not really, I just saw him for a second when he showed up. But dad spent almost an hour with him, gave him a tour of the training yard.” Luke was getting excited. Maybe they could catch this man after all.

“Ok. I’m going to call to Holden. Maybe he can give us enough information for a police sketch. Good work, buddy.”

Jack was already picking up the phone as Luke turned to leave. “Yeah. I just hope it helps.”

 

When he finally made it back to the office, it was past two in the afternoon. He was unsurprised not to see Reg, as he had class in the afternoon. He had expected Jade to still be there, however. He unlocked the door and looked around, finally finding a note on his desk.

_Went to post office, then home. See you tomorrow.  
P.S. found this for Mr. Grumpy. Wasn’t he CUTE! Your kids would have amazing hair!_

Luke smiled as he pulled out a printed picture of Reid Oliver from 1987 at a chess event. He was skinny, drowning in an oversized shirt. His hair was longer, curly and untamed. He seemed to have the same little smirk. Luke silently agreed with Jade: Reid Oliver, at 10, had been adorable. 

He sat down, pulled his computer out. As he waited for it to boot up, he glanced through his in-box and sighed. If he was going to go out tonight, he had a lot of work to make up. The fundraising event needed to be organized, and some important government filing deadlines they had to meet…  
His brow furrowed. Something about that picture kept pulling his attention. He picked it up and scanned the photo again, wondering what was bugging him.


	23. the accomplice

Chapter 23

Reid was still in the shower when he heard an incessant knocking at the front door.  
“I’m coming!” He growled in annoyance as he turned off the water and pulled a towel around his waist. The knocking continued. When he finally got to the door and wrenched it open, he was only half surprised to see Luke Snyder on his doorstep.

“What are you doing here, Luke? I thought we said seven.” Reid clutched the towel tightly at his hip. He smirked. “Or did you think I was going to back out?”

But Luke didn’t hear the questions. He was staring at Reid’s chest, and his brain suddenly wasn’t paying any attention to the conversation. Reid stopped and glanced down at himself. 

Over the years, he’d gotten used to the scars. They really didn’t bother him much anymore. They had mostly faded and smoothed. Only a few were still sensitive. He preferred to stay covered, wearing his tidy collars and long sleeves. Sun damage could be brutal, and he often explained his preference that way to those who asked. 

But honestly, he just didn’t care for the way people sometimes looked at him when they caught sight of the damaged skin. It made him think of those early, Frankenstein days, when everything was red and raw and terrible. Fear, disgust, pity. Nothing he wanted to deal with. Especially from Luke Snyder.

Reid drew breath to launch some sort of attack, a defensive salvo. His instinct was to lash out, punch away that smothering pity before it even took flight.   
But before he could speak, something happened that changed the trajectory of that moment. Luke looked up, looked into Reid’s eyes, and his tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip. Reid was startled to see, not the revulsion or sympathy that he was expecting, but a stirring of lust. The angry words died in his throat.

Luke stepped closer, his eyes wide and dark and hungry. He pushed the door closed behind him with his foot. He met Reid’s eyes for a heated moment, then dropped his gaze to his lips. It was nervous and shy and just about the hottest fucking thing Reid had ever seen.

Luke reached out, gently brushing his fingers up along the skin of Reid’s belly and tracing the one jagged line that snaked up across his heart. His hand rested there, stopping to feel Reid’s suddenly erratic heartbeat. 

Reid shuddered and felt himself leaning in, pulled as if by a magnetic force toward those full lips. Luke wrapped his other hand around the back of Reid’s neck, and curled his fingers into the damp hair at the base of his skull to finally drag them together.

Reid felt his own hands shaking as he pulled on the buttons of Luke’s shirt, his fingers sliding around that well-defined torso. He couldn’t get enough of the feeling of soft skin.   
Luke groaned in the back of his throat and nipped at Reid, trailing sloppy open mouthed kisses along the older man’s jaw before returning to snag his lips again. He pressed close, desperate to feel Reid’s body against his own. His breath hitched as he felt Reid’s hand wrap around his back and slide down, resting on Luke’s back pocket, pressing their groins together with glorious friction. 

Luke’s tardy brain finally kicked into gear. “Stop… Reid, wait a minute.”

“What? Why?” Reid complained, never fully breaking their kiss.

“I have to… tell you something.”

“Now? Can’t it wait?”

Luke chuckled, a little breathlessly. “Damn, I am so, so sorry. I’m afraid it can’t. I actually came over here to tell you something important.” He rested his forehead against Reid’s for a moment before pulling away just enough to look the other man in the eye. His hands trailed back down Reid’s arms.

Reid took a shaky breath and nodded. He stepped back and straightened his towel.

Luke stepped back a bit as well. “I have something to confess.”

“OK”

Luke took a breath. “I know you value your privacy, but I just couldn’t resist. Jade and Reg and I looked you up online.” It all spilled out in a rush. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s…” Reid shook his head, as if trying to clear the cobwebs. “That’s not a big deal, Luke.”

Luke grinned, relieved at that. “Good. But, well…I found something I thought you needed to know.” He pulled the printout from his back pocket, unfolded it, and handed it over.

Reid looked at it a moment and barked a short laugh. “Where did you find this?” He smiled as he looked at the wrinkled picture of himself at 10, clutching some sort of chess trophy and looking sullen.

“Well, you mentioned World Youth Chess, and we dug around from there.” Luke admitted with a shrug. “But that’s not the important bit, Reid.” He pointed to a man standing behind Reid in the picture. “I’ve seen this man.”

Reid looked startled. “Where? And when?”

“Maybe a week or so. He was at the farm.” Luke paused, worried by Reid’s shocked expression. “Who is he?”

“This…” Reid’s hand shook as he looked down at the paper between them. “That is Angus Oliver. My uncle. And supposedly, he died in prison five years ago.” 

“Reid. I'm pretty sure this is Paul Williams. The man Craig named as his accomplice. Oh my God! He might have even made mom sick that day, or tampered with grandmother's car.”


	24. Angus Oliver

Chapter 24

Reid sat on the edge of the bed, stunned. Luke watched him carefully for a moment. “So, what do we do now?” He asked.

Reid shook himself back into motion. “We need to make some calls. Police. Katie and David.” He stood, causing Luke eyes to glaze as they skimmed across his body. Reid flashed a tiny grin. He turned and ducked into the bathroom. “I’ll get dressed. You call the PD.” His voice continued, echoing off the tile. 

Luke lost his train of thought for a second when the white bath towel flew out towards the hamper. His face heated and flushed as he remembered running his hand across Reid’s naked chest. He was sorely tempted to peek around the corner, but made himself pick up the hotel phone and start dialing. “Do you think knowing who this is will help us find him?”

“Probably not, honestly. If it really is Angus, I’m sure he’s slithered back under his rock by now.” _Damn, he seriously hoped so._

Luke was still had the receiver pressed to his ear a few minutes later, when Reid came back into the main room, fully dressed. “I’m on hold.” He mumbled.

Reid flicked a little up-nod in acknowledgement. “Figures.” He rolled his eyes and pulled out his cell. “At least he doesn’t realize he was seen. That gives us an advantage.” 

Luke looked startled. “No. I mean, yes. I mean...” He shook his head. “When I said he was out at the farm, I meant that he _visited at the farm_. He was posing as a buyer. He talked to my dad for an hour, met the kids.” He stopped as the color drained from Reid’s face.

“He met your family?” He asked in a low voice. 

“Y-yes. Dad was going to go in this afternoon and talk to the sketch artist.”

Reid was already slipping on his shoes. “Hang up; we’re going.”

“Where? Why? What’s going on?” Luke barely had time to set the phone back on its base as Reid grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door. “Reid, what is it? You’re freaking me out.”

The other man didn’t answer, simply marched them as fast as possible to the stairs. He punched a number on his phone as he moved.

Again, the phone only rang once before it was answered. “David Woods.” 

Reid felt a sliver of relief. “David. We’ve got a possible hostile in the area. Luke just identified our accomplice as Angus Oliver.” 

“You’re uncle? I thought he was dead.” 

“Yeah, if only. He’s been to the farm, met the family.” David inhaled loudly. “Get out there. Now. Grab everyone and get them to cover.”

“Already moving.” Was the reassuring reply. “Where you want them?”

Reid thought a moment. “Let’s pull everybody to the police station. Call me when you’re there. We’ll check Lucinda and the house in town.” He clicked off as they reached Luke’s car, and dialed again as Luke started the engine.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Walsh? No time to explain.” Reid cut off her reply. “I need you to get to safety. Where are the children?”

To her credit, Lily Walsh didn’t waste time with pointless questions. “They’re at the farm, with Holden.” Her voice was worried but controlled. 

“Good.” _Shit_. “David is on his way out there. I want you to go to the police office, right now. Is anyone with you?”

“My mother.”

 _Better_. “Both of you, get to the station. Luke’s with me. We’ll meet you there. Be extra cautious. Check the car before you start it.” 

He ended the call with thoughts racing. Angus. What would Angus be doing now? If he simply acting for Craig, he might already have gone to ground. If he’d successfully hidden himself from public scrutiny for five years, he could do it again. Just wishful thinking? 

“Tell me what’s going on.” Luke had been quiet as he watched Reid make the calls, but the look on Reid’s face was enough to scare him.

“The man in the photograph is my uncle, Angus Oliver. He raised me after my parents died.” He scrubbed a hand over his eyes. _Focus_. “He’s the one who taught me chess. Master strategist. Found out, later, that he was also a fixer.” At Luke’s questioning look, he elaborated. “He solved problems for people, like me, I guess.” Reid grimaced. “Only his ‘people’ were the mafia.”

“Holy shit, Reid.”

“It gets worse. When I realized...I overheard some conversations...understood what they meant. I...” Damn. It was still hard to say, after all these years. He swallowed, hard. “I turned him in. Gave testimony.”

A heavy silence filled the car. Luke cleared his throat. “How old were you?” He asked quietly, pulling into the station parking lot. 

“Seventeen.” He paused again. 

“And ‘till now, you thought he was dead.”

Reid nodded slightly. “I was told that he died in a fire. There were rumors that he had crossed a man named Ralph Manzo, boss in a Chicago family. He must have bribed someone, exchanged places with another prisoner, or something.” That puzzle would have to wait for another day.

 

Reid scanned the area as they climbed out of the car. “I don’t see anyone yet.” He moved quickly, ushering Luke to the station doors.

“It takes a while to get into town from the farm.” He paused inside the front entrance and pulled out his phone. “I’m just going to call dad, make sure everything’s ok.”

Reid nodded and headed in to speak with Detective Hughes. His whole body was on high alert. His left hand bounced against his thigh as he waited impatiently for the desk sergeant. He was still waiting when Luke came in from the hallway, looking at his cell phone.

“Reid, I’m starting to get worried. I can’t get hold of dad or grandma.”

“I’ll try David. I swear, the phone service in this town…” He muttered as he punched his speed dial. The phone rang seven times before clicking over to voice mail. He left a terse message as he saw Margo finally make her way across the squad room.

“I need a police car out to Snyder farm, immediately.” He barked at her before she could even greet him.

“Excuse me?” Margo crossed her arms and furrowed her brow at him.

“You heard me. We have a possible situation. Your perp has been identified as Angus Oliver, my uncle, presumed dead.” Reid raked his hand through his hair. “Unfortunately alive.”

“You saw him?”

Luke jumped in. “I saw him at the farm days ago, Margo. He’s going by the name Paul Williams. It’s the man dad was going to come in and give a sketch to help identify.” 

Reid made a gesture of agreement, flicking a thumb in Luke’s direction.   
“What he said. We need to move quickly. There’s really no telling what Angus will do now. Especially since he knows he’s identifiable.”

“What makes you think this man is on his way to the farm? Right now?” She asked, sounding skeptical. 

Reid huffed out a short breath. He could feel his blood pressure rising. “It’s a possibility. We need to get the family to safety. I’ve sent Mr. Woods out there, but I can’t contact him.”

“And I can’t get dad on the phone, either.” Luke interjected.

Margo shook her head. “Luke, that doesn’t mean that something is wrong.” When Reid’s face darkened, she added a placating, “but I’ll send a car ‘round to check it out.”

“Thank you.” Luke sounded pathetically grateful. 

Reid rolled his eyes. The cops in this little shit-berg were dumber than a box of rocks. He stalked away and began to pace. He dialed David’s number again and got kicked straight to the mailbox. He smiled grimly at the entrance as Lily and Lucinda rushed in. Luke noticed and moved over to offer comforting hugs and begin explanations. Reid saw the fear and tension ratchet up in all three. 

He looked around the station again, hating the feeling of helplessness. “Ok. That’s it. I’m going out there.” Reid marched out the door, Luke hot on his heels.


	25. At the farm

Chapter 25

Reid paused for a moment as he noticed Luke following him. He reached out and grabbed the car keys from Luke’s hand. “I’ll call when I know anything.” 

Luke moved quickly to block, grabbed the other man’s arms to stop him. “Reid, you can’t just go! We’ve got to wait for the police.”

“We don’t have time, Luke.” Reid tried to pull back, but years of sports training gave Luke the advantage. “If Angus is here…” 

“Then at least let me come with you.”

“No. You stay here, between you and Lucinda, you should be able to get these idiots in gear.” He pulled to the side, out of Luke’s now-loose hold. “Look. This is what I do. It’s the whole reason your grandmother dragged me here to this God-forsaken little town. To keep you safe.” He started walking toward the car.

Luke followed, jogging a bit to keep up. “Reid, just...”

Reid turned suddenly and gently grabbed Luke’s face with both hands. Before Luke could react, he leaned in and planted strong, simple kiss on those wonderful lips. Maybe he was trying to stop the argument. Maybe he was saying… 

Just in case. 

It lasted only a few seconds and Reid pulled off with a delicious quiet smacking sound. Luke’s body rocked slightly from the motion and he stared at Reid with wide eyes.

“Stay here, be safe, and let me do my job.”

Luke finally nodded and gave a worried little smile as Reid stomped back over to the car.

 

Reid’s mind was racing as he pulled into the long gravel drive to Snyder farm. The place looked quiet, practically deserted. He cut the engine, stepped out, and looked around. Where was everyone? He noticed David’s rental car parked near the house and picked up his pace.

He jogged into the kitchen, getting more worried, more frustrated. Where the hell were the kids? He ran upstairs; nothing seemed out of place. He stopped to punch in David’s number again, and again was sent straight to voicemail. He dialed for Holden Snyder with the same results. _Fuck. Shit._

_Shit-shit-shit._

_Focus,_ he snapped at himself. _Where would they be if they hadn’t left the property? Could the kids be out Playing? Horse riding? Swimming?_

He finally found them in the barn, huddled in one of the stalls.

“Faith! Where’s David? Where’s your dad?”

“Dad took grandma down to the hospital. He said he would only be gone for an hour or so.” The teenager sobbed. “Mr. Woods was checking something outside when all the power went out, but I haven’t seen him.” Her voice was on the edge of panic. “What’s going on Reid? Who’s out there?” 

Reid grasped the girl by the shoulders and gave her a little shake to get her attention. “Get them down into the storm cellar. Bolt the door from the inside. Don’t come out for anyone but me, Jack, or Margo. Do you understand?”

Faith wobbled her head at him.

Reid released her and fumbled through his jacket pocket. “Trade me phones.”

“What?” Faith croaked.

“Your cell phone. Give it to me and take mine; it’s secure.” Faith pulled a sparkly pink phone out of a sparkly pink purse. Reid pocketed it. “Get them down there and keep them quiet. Don’t let anyone know you’re there.”

“What are you gonna do?” Her face was still wet and streaked with mascara, but she seemed to be pulling up some sort of courage.

“Don’t worry about me. Just keep the kids quiet and safe.” Reid brushed his hand over her brown hair and looked her in the eye. “I’m counting on you, Faith. I know you can do this.”

She took in a deep breath, then nodded and turned to gather her young brother and sister. Reid watched them for a moment, then turned and jogged back to the house. Finally, he saw David step out of the shadows.

“David!” Reid barked; he had never been so furious. “What the hell are you doing? I told you to get the family out of here. We have no idea where Angus is; he could show up here any minute.” He turned to look back toward the road, hoping to see the lights of police cars and was totally unprepared for the heavy blow that knocked him unconscious.


	26. It all goes pear shaped

Chapter 26

Reid blinked hard as something swam into view. His head was throbbing. He could hear the pulse of blood in his right ear. Carefully, he looked around. Above him, poised dangerously, was some sort of farm machine with foot-long teeth. Under him was a packed dirt floor. He was pretty sure he recognized the back barn.

“I wish you hadn’t woken up.” Reid was startled to hear David’s voice. 

“David, what…”

“I wish it didn’t have to be this way. But he has too much on me.” David was fiddling with something. A shovel? “Why couldn’t you have just let it go?” Reid couldn’t focus. He felt like he was going to vomit. He could smell gasoline. David looked at him again. “I can’t go to prison, Reid. I’ve put too many guys away. They would eat me up in there.” He seemed near tears, almost begging.

Reid was teetering near panic. _Think, think, think._ He looked around, hoping for something he could use.

“Sorry, partner. I really am.” David raised his Glock.

“David, please, no! Wait!” Reid heard a muffled pop, and in front of him, David went down. The big man hit his knees and tumbled face first onto the dirt floor, sending his gun skittering forward. 

Reid was relieved for a half second, until he saw the man standing in the doorway. Angus Oliver’s face was cold and hard. He lowered the silencer-covered gun barrel to point at his nephew.

“Angus? What the hell are you doing?”

“Well, I can’t let Lurch there have all the fun, can I?” Angus closed the door behind him.

“Montgomery is in jail. It’s over. Why are you still…” He pulled himself back, scooting across the dirt.

“Craig was just a means to an end. He paid me good money to get even with that old bat. And when I found out that she’d hired you. Well, hell…” He chuckled. “That kind of serendipity is too good to pass up.” Angus stalked closer. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. And that idiot partner of yours would have made it too fast.”

“What? Are you kidding me? This was all about revenge?” Reid growled through gritted teeth. He eased his hand to the side, trying to get to Dave’s discarded weapon without drawing the older man’s attention. 

“Revenge and money. Charming how nicely they fit together in this sleepy little village of the damned.” Angus was still cold, calm. The anger burned in his eyes, but his voice was steady. He could have been discussing football. “You turned on me, made me look like a fool. And now, you’ll pay for it.” Angus twitched and with another brutal pop, pain exploded in Reid’s leg. 

He screamed, scrabbled as the blood poured out of him.

“See, your problem, Reid….” Angus said, in his icy calm voice. He bent down to look into his nephew’s face.

The pain was... amazing. Reid grunted and sobbed.

“… is that you’re always so sure that you can out think anyone.” He stood and looked around the room.

In the rational part of his mind, Reid was already totaling up damages. 

“Don’t feel too bad.” Footsteps moved toward the door.

_No major organs hit, but the femur was most likely shattered._

“Not even the great Reid Oliver can win everything.” Angus chuckled.

_He was losing blood fast, possibly from the femoral artery. If he didn’t do something, he would be dead in minutes._

Reid sucked in a ragged breath. “Angus!”

Time seemed to slow, almost stop. Reid saw his uncle, his hand still outstretched, reaching for the doorknob. 

Reid saw his own hand, steady and sure, the Glock poised and ready. 

He saw the man who raised him turn his head for one final look, right shoulder dropping slightly. 

The older man was still turning when the shot rang out, deafening in the closed barn. It caught him in the left eye and threw him back against the door.  
His body jerked and splayed and slid down the wall in a tangled heap. 

Reid lowered his gun with a sigh, dropped his head back for a long moment. 

“Checkmate.” He whispered into the stillness.


	27. the cavalry finally arrives

Chapter 27  
Luke dropped to his knees and gasped. Blood pooled on the floor. So much blood, the dirt was soggy with it. He reached down to brush his hands across an ashen face. Reid’s eyes fluttered and his breath hitched.

“Da?” He asked.

“No, Reid. No, it’s me. It’s Luke.” Luke corrected gently. “It’s Luke. I’m here.”

“Luke?” Reid seemed confused. “The kids? Are they…”

“They’re fine. Everyone’s fine.” Luke soothed. “Jack’s rounding everyone up. It’s all over.”

“Don’t… it was…”

“Sh, sh. I know. It’s ok. Just calm down. You need to relax. The ambulance will be here soon.” 

“You’re leaking… the tears.” His hand came up to cup Luke’s face. Luke brought his own up and held them there, together. Reid’s thumb traced softly across his cheek.

Luke chuckled. “Yes, well. It’s been a long day.” He looked down at Reid’s shattered leg. “Someone I care about was shot.” He touched the bloodied scarf at Reid’s hip.

“Don’t disturb the tourniquet.” Reid gasped. 

“I know. Just… just hold on, ok? The ambulance is coming.”

“I’m sorry.” Reid didn’t feel the tears in his own eyes. 

“What? Why are you sorry? You saved us, Reid.”

“Luke.” Reid’s voice was getting softer. “Ti voglio tanto bene.” He gave a little shake of the head and pulled in a long breath. “Ti amo, Luciano. Ti amo. And I should have… taken better… care of you.”

“Reid.” Luke’s voice cracked. He pulled Reid’s hand to his mouth, gently kissed his palm.

“Cold. I’m s-so cold.” Reid thought he heard someone calling his name, from far away. He tried to answer, but he was too tired. His eyes slid shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, SO SORRY! I completely forgot to put the last few chapters up.
> 
> Here ya' go!


	28. Aftermath

Chapter 28

Reid woke to dim lights and sterile white walls. He looked around carefully as a hospital room swam into clarity. He could tell that a mountain of pain was safely muffled under a blanket of powerful medication. Lines connected his body to medication and monitoring equipment. His mouth felt pasty, and his stomach was queasy.

He allowed himself a moment of stunning happiness and relief. He was alive.

He gently tried clearing his throat. A dry, voiceless grunt came out. But it was enough to rouse the attention of the blonde curled up in an uncomfortable-looking chair.

“Reid! Oh, thank God! You’re awake. Finally.”

“Thirsty.” He croaked.

“Of course. Oh. Here, let me…”

Reid sipped gratefully at the straw and sighed. He dropped his head back to the pillow and lay still, breathing carefully. “So. What’re you… doing here, Goldilocks?”

“What am I doing here? What am I DOING here? Really Reid?!” Katie said in a high, annoyed voice. 

“Yeah.” Reid chuckled weakly as her voice hit the upper register. “Didn’t you once… swear to me… that you would never…” 

“Yeah, yeah. Never come back to Oakdale.” Katie cut in. Her eyes were a bit watery, but she tried to sound unaffected. “Well, next time you get shot and almost DIE I’ll spare myself the trip. I mean, heaven only knows what Simon and the boys are getting up to while I’m away.”

“Almost died, huh?”

Katie’s face clouded instantly. “It was awful, Reid. Bob Hughes actually started asking me if you were an organ donor. I mean, what the hell? Don’t you EVER…” She pulled back from Reid’s bedside and began moving around the room, straightening things needlessly.

“Everybody else?”

“Umm-hmm.” She nodded. “The locals swooped in a minute or two after you passed out. Found the kids safe in the storm cellar. And the… Angus and…” She faltered a bit. “And David.” She finished in a low voice. Her composure finally gave way and the tears slipped down her face. She wiped at her eyes furiously with a tissue. “Reid, what happened in there?”

“It was David.” He took another deep breath. They had all trusted him, a strong, solid ex-cop. Hell, a friend. Long stake-outs, arguing about who would pay for lunch, that time he got them half drunk and dragged them up on stage to sing Justin Timberlake at the karaoke bar. Katie, Simon, and Reid: none of them gave out trust easily. How could he have fooled them all? 

“David… knocked me out and… dragged me down to the barn.” He paused again. “He said something about… Angus having dirt on him. Not going to…prison.”

“Yeah. We figured out that much, or suspected.” She paced around the room. “Simon’s been looking into David and… it’s not pretty. He had money coming in from undocumented sources. He may have been smuggling weapons.” For a moment, she felt the anger wash over her again. “Damn it, Reid. We’re good! Why didn’t we see that?” 

“Recent activity, probably. After all… our security checks. After he… got in.” His words were a bit mumbled. He felt exhausted.

Katie noticed and moved over to smooth his blankets. “Get some sleep, boss. It will all still be here tomorrow. We’ll sort it out then.”

“Luke?” He was just coherent enough to ask.

“I expect he’ll be here tomorrow, too.” She kissed him lightly on the temple. “Sleep, now.”

 

He came around again hours later, feeling much more rested. The drugs had obviously started to clear from his body. He was aching but it felt nice to be able to think again. He looked up as he heard a whispered conversation at the door.

“… about three in the morning. But only for a few minutes.”

“Did he say anything?”

“Just wanted to know what was going on. He asked about you.” 

Reid lifted his head a bit to see Katie talking to Luke.

“Oh, well… If he’s sleeping, I don’t want to bother him. I should just…”

“Get in here.” Reid finished for him.

“Oh, hey! You’re awake again!” Katie sounded much more cheerful. She had probably benefitted from some sleep as well. She looked at Luke and back at Reid, grinning madly. “Good! Luke, if you can stay with him for a bit, I’ll just slip out for some breakfast.” She snatched up her purse and exited without waiting for an answer.

Reid chucked as he watched her go. “Subtlety, thy name is Frasier.” He watched as Luke slowly approached the hospital bed. He kept looking at the floor, or at the medical equipment, not making eye contact. “No flowers?” Reid joked, trying to lighten the mood.

“What? Oh. No, actually. I brought… I thought maybe you’d like this better.” He opened a plastic container full of chocolate chip cookies. He blushed. “My grandma made them for you.”

Reid coughed in disbelief. “Lucinda Walsh baked cookies?”

“No.” Luke gave a startled laugh. “My Grandma Snyder, Emma. And Faith helped.”

“You’ll have to tell them thanks for me.” Reid smiled and looked down at the container as Luke set it on the tray table. There was a long pause. Luke drew breath as if to say something, but changed his mind and shook his head. He looked around the hospital room and dragged a chair closer to the bed.

“So. You were pretty out of it. Do you…” Luke cleared his throat nervously. “Can I answer any questions for you?”

“How long?” Reid’s voice was still a little scratchy.

“Have you been here?” Reid nodded for Luke to continue. “Four days. There were moments when…” Luke looked at the floor, blinked a few times. He scratched behind his ear and took a breath before continuing. “You suffered a concussion, had to have surgery to reduce swelling.”

Reid lifted a tentative hand to his head to find a head wrapped in bandages. Luke smiled at the gesture.

“Then, they had to basically reconstruct your leg.” Luke swallowed hard. “You have so much metal in you now, you’ll probably never be able to fly commercial again.” 

Reid’s mouth quirked up in a tight grin at the joke. “That night… what happened?” He coughed a bit and gestured toward the cup of water. Luke leaned forward to bring the straw to him. 

“Well, how much do you remember?”

“I remember, the kids. Angus and David. I remember you…”

Luke blushed. He was very carefully avoiding Reid’s eye. “I’m surprised. You were pretty out of it. You called me Da.” Luke chuckled a little. “It was shock, they said. In the ambulance. I don’ think you knew… what you were saying.”

Reid reached out to touch Luke’s fingers where he was fiddling with the bleached hospital blanket. He waited until he could see those gorgeous hazel eyes.  
“I remember. I remember, and I’m not taking it back.”

Luke looked down at their hands, twisted together. He was so scared to hope. “But you don’t know me… How can you say…?”

“I know everything about you, Luke. I love everything about you.”

Luke bit his lower lip on a small smile.

“But, I understand… I’d try to. If you don’t want that…” Reid took a deep breath. “I mean, I’m kinda old and broken here, so if you needed an out…”

“Shut up.” Luke said, in a voice quiet and tender. He shook his head. “I don’t want an out.” He leaned over to gently press his lips against Reid’s. He pulled back only enough to meet his eyes. “I’m not letting you go. After all that? No.” He smiled and traced his eyes across Reid’s face. “You’re stuck with me now.”

Reid smiled in return. “Good to know.” He reached out to gently pinch Luke’s chin and bring him forward for another soft kiss, and another.


	29. Chapter 29

Six Weeks Later

Luke closed his office door behind him and threw his laptop bag over his shoulder.

“I need to go pick Reid up from his appointment, so I think I’m going to head out now, guys.”

This produced a groan from Reg and a whooping laugh from Jade. Luke looked at them, bemused at the reaction.

“I thought for sure you’d wait until 4:30. Damn it!” Reg groaned again as he handed a five dollar bill to his gloating co-worker.

“Um, guys… What’s…” Luke broke off in a nervous laugh as they both swiveled around to look significantly at him.

“We knew you’d be leaving early.” Jade spoke up, a tad smug. “You’ve got date hair.”

Luke’s face creased even further. “What on Earth is ‘date hair’?”

Reg smiled. “You’re going out, right?” Luke nodded and gave a tiny shrug. “Your hair totally gives it away. You’ve got, like, chameleon hair. Straight and down for meetings, or when you want to look responsible…Short and spiky when you’ve got a hot date.” He plastered on a big grin and spread his hands with a little ‘ta-da’ motion. “You’re almost as bad as that one.” He motioned toward Jade, who smacked him lightly on the back of the head.

Luke grimaced a little. “Am I really that predictable?”

Jade stood and came over to touch his arm comfortingly. “Don’t pay any attention to him. We’re just happy for you. You seem so…happy, and excited again. So… so Luke again.” She smiled. “Don’t worry about things here. Go have a great time.” She flashed a huge smile and waved him out the door.

 

On the short drive to the hospital, Luke found himself ruminating, replaying his friends’ conversation and wondering what would happen when he picked Reid up from his appointment. They were both expecting good news from the doctor.

The severity and location of Reid’s injuries had led to them holding off from anything more intense than several high-school style make-out sessions that had left them both gasping and light headed. Reid had offered… But Luke felt it would be unfair to receive what he couldn’t give. So they suffered the six frustrating weeks together. The time had gone by quickly enough, though some individual nights had been long. If they got the ‘ok’ from Dr. Radley today, then the waiting would be over. 

Luke smiled softly to himself as he pulled into the patient pick up circle in front of Memorial. When his quick ‘I’m here’ text went unanswered, he cut the engine and dropped his head back to the headrest to wait.

Reid’s checkups often went long. He was not the most gracious patient. A fair few of the medical staff had been put off by his sarcastic humor, annoying medical knowledge, and inability to put up with incompetence. One of the nurses in the ortho department had stormed out of his room in tears and refused to work with him again. But, for the most part he was trying to be civil. Especially considering how much pain he was in, and the terrible memories the whole process revived.

Luke had gotten into the habit of stopping by the cottage to check in about dinnertime at least three times a week. And Reid had become a regular feature at Snyder family gatherings, much to Faith’s poorly-concealed delight. Without quite meaning to, they had fallen into several cozy little domestic habits.

 

A knock at the window roused him. He looked up to see Reid, dressed in a loose outfit of hospital scrubs, balanced on his crutches and flashing one of his little smirks. Luke started to open his door to help him into the car but was a bit too late. Reid slid into the passenger side and plopped his crutches in the back. He sighed tiredly and rolled his eyes.

“So, how’d it go?” Luke asked. “I see you got the soft cast now.” He leaned over a bit, stretched his arm along the back of the seat. He combed his fingers lightly through the short curls at the nape of Reid’s neck. 

“Yeah. Hopefully it’ll be a little less trouble. I’ll be able to shower.” Reid uttered the word with a fervent groan.

“Aww. I’m sure Gretchen will miss giving you the sponge baths.” Luke never missed an opportunity to tease him about the visiting nurse. Reid shuddered visibly.

”Well, everything looks good. The IM rod and screws are in place. Good bone re-growth. I’m well on the road to recovery.”

“Fantastic news.” Luke leaned in for a soft kiss before cranking the engine and putting the car in motion. 

“We talked about it. She said I could return to… most normal activities. As long as I keep weight off it. The leg. Not totally, I mean, like 50 percent. For probably another month or so, you know. Then I’ll have to start physical therapy and work to rebuild the muscle.”

Luke shot a glance. “Reid, you’re babbling.” 

He blew out a long breath and chuckled nervously. “Hell. I feel like a virgin on prom night.” 

Luke blushed and offered up a shy smile. “Did you even go to prom?” He asked, keeping his eyes fixed on the street.

“That sounds like a chess question.” Reid avoided answering with a little smirk. 

It was another habit they had fallen into, between lunches and appointments and late dinners that ended in heated make-out sessions on the couch. They had kept up the ‘chess for questions’ that had begun so casually at the farm. Luke loved it. He was so intrigued by everything in Reid’s past that sometimes Reid felt a little overwhelmed at the attention. The games gave them some structure, and a limit to what Reid called ‘the interrogation’.

They sat with each other quietly through the remainder of the ride. Finally, they were at Lucinda’s cottage. Luke looked over at Reid and grinned mischievously. He summoned up his best fake Italian accent. “So… You gonna ask me in?”

Reid laughed, and just like that, the tension was gone, popped like a soap bubble. “Yeah, I guess I better.”

Getting into the car was much easier than getting out. Reid was still maneuvering his crutches and the leg brace into a standing position when Luke came around to help him. The two fumbled together up to the door. Reid cursed under his breath when he dropped the keys. Luke simply smiled, scooped them up and half carried Reid inside. 

This was something still very new to Reid: allowing himself to be cared for. It felt nice, in a slightly terrifying way. He seriously doubted if he could have accepted it from anyone but Luke Snyder. 

 

“We don’t have to do anything tonight.” Luke said, throwing the keys on the side table. “We could just have dinner, watch a movie. If you’re feeling tired, you know. It can wait. Whatever you need.” 

He looked so earnest saying it, big hazel eyes practically beaming out heat-shaped sparkles. Reid smirked. “Yeah, Luke. The thing is, I don’t want to wait.”

“Thank God!” Luke burst out, grabbing Reid by the shoulders. He leaned in to kiss and slide up against the older man like an affectionate cat. They laughed a little breathlessly against each other as they stumbled and limped into the bedroom, Luke still supporting much of Reid’s weight.

Once they were at the bed, everything seemed to slow down. Reid sat perched on the corner of the mattress and watched as Luke stepped back slightly and stood before him. With another blushing smile, he held Reid’s gaze for a moment, biting his bottom lip. Reid sucked in a breath as he then began to remove his own clothes. 

He reached down to the hem of his faded tee shirt and slowly dragged it over his head. Golden afternoon sunlight filtered in through the slatted shutters, tracing lines of honey across Luke’s shoulders and chest. He unbuckled his belt and pulled it free from the belt loops and Reid could swear he felt that long smooth tug on his own cock.  
By the time Luke unbuttoned his jeans and pulled down the zipper, Reid was hearing the blood pulsing in his ears. Luke lowered his pants and his boxers, stepped out of them, and stood naked for a long heated moment as Reid devoured him with his eyes.

“Say something to me.”

And Reid knew what that meant. “Mi bello amante. Il mio cuore è per voi.” 

Luke knelt down between Reid’s legs and reached out with trembling hands to pull at his shirt, revealing the scars that Luke found so heart wrenching.

“Baciami, Luciano. Mi piace come mi baci.” Reid whispered, low and hot, into the side of Luke’s neck, just under his ear. 

Luke moaned and pulled back for a fervent kiss. Their tongues danced across each other. Reid nipped at Luke’s bottom lip. He held Luke’s face gently, stroking his thumb lightly across his cheek.

“Ya tebya lyublyu, Luke. Ho bisogno di te.” 

Luke lowered them gently onto the center of the bed, carefully positioning Reid to avoid bumping the still-healing leg. He cautiously peeled off the hospital pants and propped up on his elbow to take in the lovely sight of this beautiful man, laid out before him. He leaned in and slowly began kissing along the faded scars, tracing them with his warm tongue as Reid sighed and moaned.

“A chuisle, ta tu go hiontach.” 

Luke’s wonderful mouth finally found its way to Reid’s cock, and the sensation of that hot, eager mouth made the world a little swimmy for a moment as Reid’s eyes rolled back into his head. He groaned and pumped his hips helplessly as his lucid thoughts dissipated. An embarrassingly short minute later, he was riding up to release. He pawed at Luke’s shoulder and called out a warning, but that only seemed to urge his partner on. 

Luke twirled his tongue around the shaft while he cupped his balls and fingers lightly up and down the cleft of Reid’s ass. When the explosion came, he sucked harder, swallowing as much as he could before pulling off with a juicy pop. He continued to stroke Reid as he came back down to earth, and Luke found he had smug little smile on his own face for a change. 

He slithered up to the pillow, grinding his erection against Reid’s leg and hip as he moved. He gasped and threw back his head as Reid took hold, his fist slicked with come from the small trail low on his stomach. Luke rutted with abandon, and with only a few pumps, he was over the edge, coming so hard he saw spots. 

 

Later that evening, sated, cleaned, and fed, they were lounging on the sofa, with boxes of Chinese take-out and the chessboard. As usual, Luke spends his first couple of questions on trivial stuff: What’s the last book you read (Time Traveler’s Wife. It was in the waiting room.), favorite movie (Godfather, parts I and II), Chinese vs. Mexican (both), warming up for the main event. 

“So, did you really go to prom.” Luke asks as he captures Reid’s rook.

“Nope. As far as I know I was the only out kid at my high school.”

“Me too.” Luke says, a little wistfully.

“Did you?”

“Yeah, with a friend. Maddie Coleman.”

 

“What were you speaking? Before, in there.” Reid thinks it’s adorable that Luke can still blush over such simple things. “That didn’t all sound like Italian.”

“Italian, Russian, and Irish.”

“Wow. So how many languages do you actually know?”

Reid looks at the ceiling as he calculates. “English, of course. ASL, Italian, Russian, a smattering of Spanish, and enough of the Irish to get by. I’ve started working on Mandarin in my spare time.”

Luke grimaces a little at this, because he knows how bored Reid can get, just waiting to heal. He knows he’s been consulting on case files that Katie and Simon have sent, plus looking over some things for Lucinda. And, strangely enough, he’s been tutoring Faith every Wednesday. But Luke knows that doesn’t come close to keeping Reid occupied. He can feel the worries bubbling up again.

“What’s your tattoo mean?”

Reid laughs at that and rubs his right hand over his left bicep, small black letters against soft white skin. Luke’s been curious about that for a while. “Non illegitimi carborundum. It’s dog Latin, means ‘don’t let the bastards get you down’. It was after the accident.”

Luke sees the pain hiding behind his favorite pair of blue eyes, and just has to lean in to kiss and soothe some of it away. 

When they return to the game, he knows he’s on the ropes, so he makes his last question the biggie, the one that’s been lodged in his throat for almost six weeks.

“Will you stay?” Luke asks, not quite knowing what the answer will be.

Reid doesn’t look startled at all. His gaze is steady, no hesitation. “As long as you want me around.” 

“What if…I ask for forever?”

Reid reaches over to draw him closer. “I’d say that’s a good start.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 (Italian) My beautiful lover. My heart is for you.  
> 2 (Italian) Kiss me, Luciano. I love how you kiss me.  
> 3 (Russian) I love you. I need you.  
> 4 (Irish Gaelic) My darling, you are wonderful.
> 
> (phrases taken from online sources, as I do not speak any of these languages)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to everyone who's checked this out and left kudos. I really appreciate it. This was one of my first fics, written just when the show was going off the air. I still love the boys so much. It's lovely to see that others are still interested in them.


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